Explore China and experience close contact with Giant Panda Bear
One tour, three panda preserves!
Wolong Panda Preserve:
Newly reconstructed, will open soon although no official announcements have been made.
Chengdu Panda Research Base :
This is the political and scientific center of all China panda research.
Bifengxia Panda Preserve:
This is the current best panda breeding facility, with the most adult and baby pandas. The best panda volunteering is here.
The only China tour to visit the three best places to experience giant pandas.
Our 9, 11 & 12 day tours begin in
Beijing – the current capital of China
Our 7 & 8 day tours begin in Chengdu
Chengdu – the most relaxed city in all of China
view each itinerary for what is included:
Sights that we visit in Beijing include the Great Wall & the Summer Palace From Beijing our group flies to the city of Chengdu where we enjoy the Sichuan Opera Those in the 12 day tour will then have a chance to experience a behind the scenes half day volunteer program at the Chengdu Panda Base.
We then drive into the mountains to the small town of Yaan or Ya’an to visit the Bifengxia Panda Breeding Preserve
At Bifengxia our group has several days to work and play with the pandas.
From Bifengxia we make the grand adventure trip & visit the Wolong region. We plan to visit the newly built replace facility there.
Next we fly to the ancient China capital City of
Xian or Xi’an
to visit the Terra Cotta Museum Then finally we leave China and head back to our homes wherever they may be.
Join me, the guy who wrote the book about the Panda Breeding Preserves, as I set out to visit the World’s three best Panda research and breeding facilities all on one tour.
This is Keith and I wanted to discuss tour prices. I know our tour is higher than many Chinese tours. But we don’t do large bus tours. We don’t force you to shop for hours on end in special shop where we can collect commissions as high as 50%. We try to give you a broad and intimate view of China as it is today.
Along with the cultural and people oriented side of our tours, we provide you a special and meaningful experience with the giant pandas. With this new tour design you can visit as many as 3 different panda facilities. This is an amazing opportunity
By not following the traditional China tour operator protocols our tours are just naturally more expensive. Compare a set meal for $2 or $3 to any meal our groups sit down to enjoy and you can see the difference. I’m positive our tour price gives excellent value. It is not a budget discount package. And I am positive no other tour will give you this type of panda experience.
The late 2018 schedule is in the works with new dates to be announced towards the end of 2017.
Previous trip examples:
$2,595 with 5 PANDA DAYS
Special Panda only trip. No touring in Xian or Beijing. We take you directly to the pandas. For those with limited time.
A panda day is a tour day that includes activity at one of the panda preserves. We mention this to give you an idea of how much time you will have with the pandas.
email us
Be sure to check out Keith’s new book about the Panda’s. Available at Amazon.com.
Giant Pandas and Me:
Ten Years of Discovery by Keith E. Jones Be sure and check out the on line diary from our first ever 11 day Panda trip. 10 years ago. Many interesting photos and detailed information about our trip. This was our first group tour in 2005. Since then hundreds of happy Panda fanatics have traveled with us to experience pandas up close.
Can I really pet a panda?
Yes,
our trip includes several days working behind the scenes at a Chinese Panda Breeding and Research facility. Chores assigned to our group typically include carrying bamboo to the enclosures or maybe we’ll be cleaning up panda poop. One thing we can count on is that we will be right in there with the Giant Panda bears…and if you don’t want to work inside the enclosures, you can still come along and be guaranteed the opportunity to pet a panda! No volunteer work required if you don’t want to do it. The only place in the world to get this close to Giant Pandas and their keepers. But to actually sit down and wrap your arm around a panda, you will most likely need to choose some optional extra photo opportunity while at one of the panda preserves. This is choice you can make at the time you are there.
From Bifengxia we make the grand adventure trip & visit the Wolong region. We plan to visit the newly built replace facility there.
Next we fly to the ancient China capital City of
Xian or Xi’an to visit the Terra Cotta Museum
Then finally we leave China and head back to our homes wherever they may be.
What's included in our BIG China panda trip price?
Meals, lodging in 3 star & 4 star or better hotels, all ground transportation while with the group, domestic air transportation within China, fees associated with our various side trips and an English speaking Chinese guide, plus Keith as the trip leader when available. Side trips as noted in the trip itineraries.
It is easy to work with us to customize extensions of this tour for Yangtze River cruises or to visit other cities or wilderness areas either before or after our Panda intense tour. Recommended sites include Shanghai and Guilin and the River Li day cruise or the rice terraces (said to be the most beautiful spots in China).
Hotels may change due to availability or local conditions. We always book into a 3 star or better and normally our hotels are 4 star. ** We reserve the right to change side trip and tour destinations to meet local conditions such as weather, renovation or overcrowding. *** The work experience may vary considerably from month to month. Work duties change with the seasons and with the individual health of each panda. You will work with a panda keeper and your experience will be significantly related to the duties of that particular animal keeper. Safety and health concerns for the pandas may alter the tour volunteer program in part, at any time. Frequent changes to the pattern of work and to what is allowed and is not allowed is normal and customary. The type of close encounters available as options or offered as part of the program change from time to time.
A quick note about the video, there is no sound, so put on a favorite song and enjoy the pictures and video clips.
If you’re interested in being in the next video, let us know that you would like to be a part of our next trips and we’ll make sure we get some good pictures and videos of you with the pandas.
As we have been doing a little late spring cleaning and begining to refresh our webpages, and our slideshows and videos, we came across some old favorites. To the left of this is a video we put together a few years ago with some pictures and videos from some of our trips. We figured we’ll put them up on the web and let people enjoy them again. If you’ve traveled to China with us and recognize any of the pictures or clips, send us an email, we would love to hear from you.