CD07: Volunteer Experience at Dujiangyan Panda Base

Our guide will contact you one day in advance to confirm the greeting time. Usually they will come to get you at your hotel in Chengdu at around 07:00. After a warm greeting, we will depart from Chengdu and take a 1.5 hours' car ride to Dujiangyan Panda Base to start the panda keeper program. Upon arrival at 08:30 or so, our guide will help you deal with registration procedures. Then there will be staff to inform you the dos and don'ts and offer you special uniform and volunteer card. When all the preparation works are done, the Panda Base will allocate workers to guide your work. Our tour guide will also accompany you for the entire time.

The volunteer program will literally start at around 09:00. The first work is to clean pandas' sheds and activity areas by sweeping out their excrements and leftovers. Sometimes, you may also assist the staff to smash up bamboo stems for pandas to eat. The cleaning usually takes around 1 hour. After that, you will have an hour's time touring around the base.
At 11:00 or so, you will be arranged to feed giant pandas through bars of the enclosures under the guidance of professional feeders. Lunch will be offered at around 11:40 at the staff canteen. It is a simple Chinese lunch box and may be not to your taste. So we kindly suggest you prepare your favorite food in advance.

You might need to do the cleaning work or feeding according to the arrangement of the Panda Base. After that, you will be guided to the office to make the panda cake. The whole volunteer program is going to end at 15:30 or so and you will be awarded a certificate issued by the Dujiangyan Panda Base before leaving. At the end of the day, our guide and driver will take you back to the hotel in Chengdu. Hope you have had a nice day with us!