Yaan Bifengxia Panda Base

Yaan Bifengxia Panda Base is one of the 5 panda bases in/around the city of Chengdu. It is the name of the base and is located 160km southwest to the city of Chengdu. Bifengxia means Gorge of Green Hills, it is also a tourist attraction that has gorge and waterfall scenery that share the same natural environment with the panda base itself. Bifengxia Panda Base is home to around 40 to 60 pandas in total. Yaan Bifengxia Panda Base is open to the public all year round. It is a less-touristy panda base comparing to the ones near the city of Chengdu.

Bifengxia Panda Base is part of the China Giant Panda Protection Center, it was funded by 2003 in Bifengxia of Yaan, 150km southwest to Chengdu and 20km to the city of Yaan. Bifengxia Panda Base is a base of Panda breeding, rescue and public education. The pandas are kept mainly in three enclosures: Baixiongping, Kindergarten and Overseas Enclosure. Baixiongping is for adult and ready-to-be adult pandas. Overseas Panda Enclosure is for pandas that were born in other countries and have returned China and live here. Panda Kindergarten is for baby pandas that are younger than 2 years old and mainly breeded in the base.

How to get to Bifengxia

Bifengxia is located 160km southwest to the city of Chengdu. There is no direct public transport to get there from Chengdu. Normally one can use public transport to the city of Yaan by its railway station or bus station and then use taxi from there.

1, by fast train one can get to Yaan Railway Station in about 1.5h and then either use a local taxi for around 15km or take a bus to get to Bifengxia Panda Base, note the bus may not be available in low seasons;

2, by public bus one can get to Yaan Bus Station and then use a taxi for around 20km to the panda base, in some seasons there maybe direct bus available in summer that can take you directly to Bifengxia.

3, you may consider to hire a car from us to take you there to save the trouble of using public transport.

Travel Season

Spring from March to April is the low season of traveling to Bifengxia Panda Base where you don’t see many tourists visiting the panda base. A daily visitor number is below 2000 while from June to October it is the busy season when you will see a daily visitor number over 4000 people each day. From November it starts to cool off and you will see the quietest season from December to the next February when a daily visitor number is below 1000. In cooler and colder days the pandas are more active. In this part of China we start to have cool/cold weather from November to the next March.

Everyday by around 10am and 2:30pm is the feeding time when pandas are more active than the rest of the time in a day although this is not definite but this is a good tip for visitors who come from far places to make your plans of visit at the best time in a day and not miss the best of Bifengxia Pandas.

Highlights of Bifengxia Panda Base

Panda Babies (around 4-8 babies below 2 y/o);

“Famous” Pandas such as Xiang Xiang;

Natural and lush environment;

Planning a Trip to Bifengxia

Bifengxia is a tourist park that is composed of two parts: Bifengxia Zoo and Bifengxia Park. Bifengxia Panda Base is part of the Bifengxia Park. The Zoo and the park require different admission fees. Most international visitors to Bifengxia will only go to the Bifengxia Park because that's where the Bifengxia Panda Base is located. The Bifengxia Zoo has many different wild animals except pandas. Bifengxia Park itself is a beautiful landascape. Bifeng means Green Mountains, Xia means gorge.

Within Bifengxia Panda Base the visiting route is well-designed and well-marked.

Ticket Information

Entrance ticket costs 100 yuan to go into Bifengxia Park(including panda base and Bifeng Gorge).

Optional Golf Car available in panda base 2km: 20 yuan

Ticket Business Hour: 08:30 -16:00

Recommended Time of Visit: 2 hours if you only visit the panda base, 5-6 hours if you plan to visit/walk the Bifeng Gorge

Panda Base Tourist Services

Dining: available restaurants outside of the panda base;

Wheelchair accessible but hard;

Luggage Storage: available;

Guide Service: upon inquiry to the park;

Volunteer Work: Available (except June to August each year)

Advantage comparing to other panda bases: Quiet and the base feels a Natural Place;

Disadvantage: A bit far from Chengdu, longer walk inside the park;

Bifeng Gorge

Bifengxia usually refers to the Bifengxia Park that can either mean Bifengxia Panda Base of the Bifeng Gorge. Bifeng Gorge is called Bifengxia in Chinese. Bifengxia Panda Base is inside the Bifengxia Park. Bifeng Gorge itself is a very interesting place to see too. One can walk inside the gorge for around 2-3 hours with views of waterfalls, streams, rocks etc. Bifeng Gorge is a good and cool place to walk when you are visiting Bifengxia Panda Base when you have time.

The only way to visit Bifeng Gorge is by hiking and walking. It involves walking on stairs for total 7km to finish the circuit loop by the valley passing by waterfalls, small rivers, cliffs and forests. Bifeng Gorge is a typical landscape of subtropical rainforest in China. The stairs are not steep but can be damp. Normally one starts by the panda base and walk down to the bottom of the valley then follow the river down and then up. Coming up the valley you can use an elevator.