Where to See Pandas
Choose where to see pandas: the original base, expansion zone, Panda Valley or the zoo. They differ in animal density, travel, booking and walking, so “all have pandas” does not make them equivalent.
The short answer
Panda Base, morning ticket on Trip.com the moment your date is inside 14 days, at the gate at opening with the passport you booked with. If Trip.com fails, the 'Cash and Cards' window only sells when tickets remain — on a weekend go to the zoo instead.
A morning: Panda Base morning slot, inside before 9:00, the ¥30 bus, out by noon — do not try to add the zoo to the same morning. An afternoon: the zoo, panda house first, before 16:30 last entry; a base afternoon ticket shows you sleeping pandas.
Panda Base by the West Gate: the base's own advice for a shorter queue, free strollers and wheelchairs at the visitor centre, the ¥30 bus for the hills; over-60s and under-1.3 m children are free. Skip the tower for anyone with a heart condition or high blood pressure. For toddlers who will not last three hours, the zoo is flat and ¥20.
Chengdu Zoo: no reservation required, a ticket window on site, Line 3 Zoo station Exit A. The base's walk-up window is 'when tickets remain' only; Panda Valley's 7-day window may still have space but needs WeChat and a phone number.
Panda Valley on a second day — a fraction of the base's crowds; or the base's West Gate at opening on a weekday. Never the base on a public holiday (entry pauses at 36,000 inside), and not a Monday if Villa No. 6 is what you came for.
Morning slot only, and head for the houses with indoor viewing — Villas 1, 2, 3 and 7, the Sun / Moon / Star delivery houses, the Panda Reception Hall, the Dense Forest and Creek Valley halls; an afternoon may show no panda outdoors at all.
Cubs and the nurseries: South Gate (Panda Avenue station + shuttle 408). Shorter queue and the tower view: West Gate (Junqu Zongyiyuan station + shuttle 409). It is one ticket and one entry — you do not get to change your mind inside.
Say no: the site that ran it has been closed since 23 April 2026 with no reopening notice, and its terms for foreign participants were never published. Panda Valley is the open Dujiangyan option, and it has no volunteer programme in its entry.
Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
Panda Base — original zone (South Gate)
熊猫基地 老区（南大门）Open the place →- Getting there
- Line 3 to Panda Avenue station, Exit A, then shuttle bus 408 to the South Gate; or Line 3 Zoo station, then bus 655 / 87. Taxi from Chunxi Road about ¥40 (25-35 min), from Shuangliu airport about ¥100, from Tianfu airport about ¥200 (the base's own estimates); tourist coaches from Chunxi Road and Kuanzhai Alleys via the 'Chengdu Scenic Shuttle Bus' WeChat official account · 2026-09-11
- Ticket
- Adults ¥55, students ¥27, free for 60+ and children 6 or under / 1.3 m; the ticket does not cover Panda Valley in Dujiangyan (the base's own wording). Extras: sightseeing bus ¥30, English audio guide ¥30 a day (kiosk rental by WeChat / Alipay scan only) · 2026-09-11
- Booking & passport
- Real-name online only, up to 14 days ahead, 85,000 a day (45,000 morning / 40,000 afternoon), first come first served: WeChat official account / mini-program, Meituan, Ctrip, Douyin, Tongcheng. No Chinese phone number: the base's English notice says buy on Trip.com, or use the 'Cash and Cards' window when tickets remain — whether Trip.com takes a passport number as the real-name ID is not stated. One ticket per person per document; bring the original passport you booked with — either gate's lane will accept it · 2026-02-07
- When the pandas move
- Morning ticket, at the gate at opening: 16 Mar-31 Oct morning entry 7:30-12:00, afternoon 12:00-17:00, clearing from 18:00; 1 Nov-15 Mar 8:00-12:00 and 12:00-16:30. The base does not publish feeding times but says pandas go indoors in heat; the widely repeated advice is to be inside before 9:00. Afternoon-ticket holders are not let in early · 2026-02-19
- Crowds
- The most crowded of the four: entry pauses once 36,000 people are inside at the same time (2026 Spring Festival notice), so on a holiday even a valid ticket can mean a wait at the gate; the base itself recommends the West Gate for shorter queues. Villa No. 6, the busiest enclosure, shuts every Monday except public holidays · 2026-02-07
- Walking / shuttle
- Big and hilly: allow 3-4 hours on foot from the South Gate, or take the ¥30 sightseeing bus (summer 7:30-17:30, winter 8:00-17:00). Wheelchairs, strollers, umbrellas and sticks lent free at both gate visitor centres; lockers free. Whether the bus links the two zones: not checked · 2026-09-11
- How long
- A half-day trip out of town plus a 3-4 hour walk; arrive at 11:00 and you see sleeping pandas, on a summer afternoon possibly none outdoors · 2026-09-11
- Best for
- First-timers who want cubs and the nurseries and can be at the gate at opening
Panda Base — expansion zone & Panda Tower (West Gate)
熊猫基地 扩建区 · 熊猫塔（西大门）Open the place →- Getting there
- Line 3 to Junqu Zongyiyuan (Military General Hospital) station, Exit B, then shuttle bus 409 (about 10 min) to the West Gate; or bus 110 / 110A / 659 to Yulei Rd–Cuiwei Rd and walk 600 m. No car park at this gate (Feb 2026 notice): drivers park at the 'Bolinghui' underground car park and take shuttle D569. Walking distance between the two gates: not published · 2026-09-11
- Ticket
- Same ticket as the original zone (adults ¥55) — one ticket, one entry, either gate; the Panda Tower is free with a separate online slot · 2026-09-11
- Booking & passport
- Base ticket exactly as for the South Gate (real-name, online, 14 days ahead, passport lane at the gate). The Panda Tower is a second reservation on top: free, online through the base's WeChat channels, one QR code per person, one phone number can book several people, over-60s swipe in without booking; the English hours page gives no route for foreign visitors — ask at the West Gate visitor centre · 2026-09-11
- When the pandas move
- Same slots as the base (summer morning entry 7:30-12:00); the Panda Tower runs 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30, every day since 1 April 2026. In heat the pandas here go indoors too — the Creek Valley and Dense Forest indoor halls are on the base's July 2026 list · 2026-09-11
- Crowds
- The base's own Spring Festival advice: come by public transport to the West Gate, entry queues are shorter than at the South Gate. Inside, the tower caps at 200 people and pauses admission — do it first thing or at the end · 2026-02-07
- Walking / shuttle
- More hillside walking than the old zone: each house here has only one or two viewing windows, so expect fewer pandas per stop and longer walks between them. The tower has a sightseeing lift, closes in bad weather, and the base advises visitors with heart conditions or high blood pressure not to go up; wheelchairs and strollers lent free at the West Gate · 2026-09-11
- How long
- Not checked — our entry has no timing for it. A morning ticket must be used before 12:00 and it is one entry per ticket, so you cannot enter here in the morning and re-enter at the South Gate · 2026-09-11
- Best for
- Anyone told to expect a queue at the South Gate; people who want the tower's view over the city; second visits
Panda Valley (Dujiangyan)
熊猫谷（都江堰）Open the place →- Getting there
- No rail stop: a taxi from Lidui Park or Dujiangyan town, about 20 minutes, or similar from Qingcheng Mountain station; 10 km south of Dujiangyan at Yutang. Shuttle from town or the station: not checked — our entry defers to the base's WeChat official account · 2026-09-11
- Ticket
- ¥55, half price ¥27 (official English page); a separate ticket — the city base's tariff says its tickets exclude Panda Valley, and vice versa · 2026-09-11
- Booking & passport
- Online only, up to 7 days ahead, on the 'Panda Valley' WeChat official account ('Ticket Purchase and Tour' → 'Ticket Purchase and Reservation'); no ticket window on site, even free-ticket visitors must book. The official English page says outright that passports can book by entering the number, checked at the gate with the document or QR code — but the order needs a valid mobile number and a WeChat official account, so a hotel or friend may have to book for you. Enquiries 028-87296600 · 2026-09-11
- When the pandas move
- No timed entry: peak season 1 May-31 Oct 7:50-17:30 (same-day booking until 17:00); low season 1 Nov-30 Apr 8:10-17:00 (booking until 16:30). Mornings are still the animals' active hours · 2026-09-11
- Crowds
- Never full the way the city base is — a fraction of its crowds, by design; on a holiday the constraint is the 7-day booking window, not the gate · 2026-09-11
- Walking / shuttle
- Not checked — our entry has no accessibility or distance figure; the pandas are in large forested hillside enclosures, so expect walking between a few spread-out animals · 2026-09-11
- How long
- Not checked — no time figure; our entry pairs it as 'Dujiangyan in the morning, the valley after lunch' · 2026-09-11
- Best for
- A second panda day out of Dujiangyan; people who want space and quiet over numbers
Chengdu Zoo (panda house)
成都动物园（大熊猫馆）Open the place →- Getting there
- Line 3 Zoo station, Exit A, is the main (north) gate; buses 9, 18, 32, 64, 99, 527, 650; a south gate connects through Zhaojue Temple. Two stops south of Panda Avenue on the same line, 6 km from the base · 2016-12-26
- Ticket
- Adults ¥20, half price ¥10, free for 60+ and children 6 or under / 1.3 m; single entry — leave and you pay again · 2022-08-04
- Booking & passport
- No reservation required. Online via the zoo's WeChat official account or the 'Chengdu Zoo e-ticket' mini-program (WeChat / Alipay), or Qunar, Lvmama, Dianping, Meituan, Ctrip; the zoo's own notice says those who cannot book online buy at the ticket window — the only panda site in the city with a published walk-up option. Whether the online form takes a passport number is not published · 2022-08-04
- When the pandas move
- Mar-Oct 8:00-17:30, Nov-Feb 8:30-17:30, last entry 16:30, open every day. The zoo's own best hours are 9:00-12:00 or after 16:00 — but 'after 16:00' is 90 minutes to last entry · 2022-08-04
- Crowds
- Not checked — no crowd figure in our entry; weekends and school holidays bring families, and the panda house sits at the far end of the zoo's recommended loop, so go there first · 2016-12-31
- Walking / shuttle
- A flat, tree-shaded park; the panda house is at the far end from the north gate — reverse the loop. The zoo publishes no wheelchair or stroller details; over-60s free on ID, disability-certificate holders free with one carer for grades 1-2 · 2022-08-04
- How long
- Not checked — no time figure, but the zoo's own 'after 16:00' window is 90 minutes to last entry, which is enough for the panda house alone · 2016-12-31
- Best for
- Plan B when the base is sold out; small children; a cheap same-day panda sighting on the way to Zhaojue Temple
| Compare | Panda Base — original zone (South Gate) | Panda Base — expansion zone & Panda Tower (West Gate) | Panda Valley (Dujiangyan) | Chengdu Zoo (panda house) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting there | Line 3 to Panda Avenue station, Exit A, then shuttle bus 408 to the South Gate; or Line 3 Zoo station, then bus 655 / 87. Taxi from Chunxi Road about ¥40 (25-35 min), from Shuangliu airport about ¥100, from Tianfu airport about ¥200 (the base's own estimates); tourist coaches from Chunxi Road and Kuanzhai Alleys via the 'Chengdu Scenic Shuttle Bus' WeChat official account · 2026-09-11 | Line 3 to Junqu Zongyiyuan (Military General Hospital) station, Exit B, then shuttle bus 409 (about 10 min) to the West Gate; or bus 110 / 110A / 659 to Yulei Rd–Cuiwei Rd and walk 600 m. No car park at this gate (Feb 2026 notice): drivers park at the 'Bolinghui' underground car park and take shuttle D569. Walking distance between the two gates: not published · 2026-09-11 | No rail stop: a taxi from Lidui Park or Dujiangyan town, about 20 minutes, or similar from Qingcheng Mountain station; 10 km south of Dujiangyan at Yutang. Shuttle from town or the station: not checked — our entry defers to the base's WeChat official account · 2026-09-11 | Line 3 Zoo station, Exit A, is the main (north) gate; buses 9, 18, 32, 64, 99, 527, 650; a south gate connects through Zhaojue Temple. Two stops south of Panda Avenue on the same line, 6 km from the base · 2016-12-26 |
| Ticket | Adults ¥55, students ¥27, free for 60+ and children 6 or under / 1.3 m; the ticket does not cover Panda Valley in Dujiangyan (the base's own wording). Extras: sightseeing bus ¥30, English audio guide ¥30 a day (kiosk rental by WeChat / Alipay scan only) · 2026-09-11 | Same ticket as the original zone (adults ¥55) — one ticket, one entry, either gate; the Panda Tower is free with a separate online slot · 2026-09-11 | ¥55, half price ¥27 (official English page); a separate ticket — the city base's tariff says its tickets exclude Panda Valley, and vice versa · 2026-09-11 | Adults ¥20, half price ¥10, free for 60+ and children 6 or under / 1.3 m; single entry — leave and you pay again · 2022-08-04 |
| Booking & passport | Real-name online only, up to 14 days ahead, 85,000 a day (45,000 morning / 40,000 afternoon), first come first served: WeChat official account / mini-program, Meituan, Ctrip, Douyin, Tongcheng. No Chinese phone number: the base's English notice says buy on Trip.com, or use the 'Cash and Cards' window when tickets remain — whether Trip.com takes a passport number as the real-name ID is not stated. One ticket per person per document; bring the original passport you booked with — either gate's lane will accept it · 2026-02-07 | Base ticket exactly as for the South Gate (real-name, online, 14 days ahead, passport lane at the gate). The Panda Tower is a second reservation on top: free, online through the base's WeChat channels, one QR code per person, one phone number can book several people, over-60s swipe in without booking; the English hours page gives no route for foreign visitors — ask at the West Gate visitor centre · 2026-09-11 | Online only, up to 7 days ahead, on the 'Panda Valley' WeChat official account ('Ticket Purchase and Tour' → 'Ticket Purchase and Reservation'); no ticket window on site, even free-ticket visitors must book. The official English page says outright that passports can book by entering the number, checked at the gate with the document or QR code — but the order needs a valid mobile number and a WeChat official account, so a hotel or friend may have to book for you. Enquiries 028-87296600 · 2026-09-11 | No reservation required. Online via the zoo's WeChat official account or the 'Chengdu Zoo e-ticket' mini-program (WeChat / Alipay), or Qunar, Lvmama, Dianping, Meituan, Ctrip; the zoo's own notice says those who cannot book online buy at the ticket window — the only panda site in the city with a published walk-up option. Whether the online form takes a passport number is not published · 2022-08-04 |
| When the pandas move | Morning ticket, at the gate at opening: 16 Mar-31 Oct morning entry 7:30-12:00, afternoon 12:00-17:00, clearing from 18:00; 1 Nov-15 Mar 8:00-12:00 and 12:00-16:30. The base does not publish feeding times but says pandas go indoors in heat; the widely repeated advice is to be inside before 9:00. Afternoon-ticket holders are not let in early · 2026-02-19 | Same slots as the base (summer morning entry 7:30-12:00); the Panda Tower runs 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30, every day since 1 April 2026. In heat the pandas here go indoors too — the Creek Valley and Dense Forest indoor halls are on the base's July 2026 list · 2026-09-11 | No timed entry: peak season 1 May-31 Oct 7:50-17:30 (same-day booking until 17:00); low season 1 Nov-30 Apr 8:10-17:00 (booking until 16:30). Mornings are still the animals' active hours · 2026-09-11 | Mar-Oct 8:00-17:30, Nov-Feb 8:30-17:30, last entry 16:30, open every day. The zoo's own best hours are 9:00-12:00 or after 16:00 — but 'after 16:00' is 90 minutes to last entry · 2022-08-04 |
| Crowds | The most crowded of the four: entry pauses once 36,000 people are inside at the same time (2026 Spring Festival notice), so on a holiday even a valid ticket can mean a wait at the gate; the base itself recommends the West Gate for shorter queues. Villa No. 6, the busiest enclosure, shuts every Monday except public holidays · 2026-02-07 | The base's own Spring Festival advice: come by public transport to the West Gate, entry queues are shorter than at the South Gate. Inside, the tower caps at 200 people and pauses admission — do it first thing or at the end · 2026-02-07 | Never full the way the city base is — a fraction of its crowds, by design; on a holiday the constraint is the 7-day booking window, not the gate · 2026-09-11 | Not checked — no crowd figure in our entry; weekends and school holidays bring families, and the panda house sits at the far end of the zoo's recommended loop, so go there first · 2016-12-31 |
| Walking / shuttle | Big and hilly: allow 3-4 hours on foot from the South Gate, or take the ¥30 sightseeing bus (summer 7:30-17:30, winter 8:00-17:00). Wheelchairs, strollers, umbrellas and sticks lent free at both gate visitor centres; lockers free. Whether the bus links the two zones: not checked · 2026-09-11 | More hillside walking than the old zone: each house here has only one or two viewing windows, so expect fewer pandas per stop and longer walks between them. The tower has a sightseeing lift, closes in bad weather, and the base advises visitors with heart conditions or high blood pressure not to go up; wheelchairs and strollers lent free at the West Gate · 2026-09-11 | Not checked — our entry has no accessibility or distance figure; the pandas are in large forested hillside enclosures, so expect walking between a few spread-out animals · 2026-09-11 | A flat, tree-shaded park; the panda house is at the far end from the north gate — reverse the loop. The zoo publishes no wheelchair or stroller details; over-60s free on ID, disability-certificate holders free with one carer for grades 1-2 · 2022-08-04 |
| How long | A half-day trip out of town plus a 3-4 hour walk; arrive at 11:00 and you see sleeping pandas, on a summer afternoon possibly none outdoors · 2026-09-11 | Not checked — our entry has no timing for it. A morning ticket must be used before 12:00 and it is one entry per ticket, so you cannot enter here in the morning and re-enter at the South Gate · 2026-09-11 | Not checked — no time figure; our entry pairs it as 'Dujiangyan in the morning, the valley after lunch' · 2026-09-11 | Not checked — no time figure, but the zoo's own 'after 16:00' window is 90 minutes to last entry, which is enough for the panda house alone · 2016-12-31 |
| Best for | First-timers who want cubs and the nurseries and can be at the gate at opening | Anyone told to expect a queue at the South Gate; people who want the tower's view over the city; second visits | A second panda day out of Dujiangyan; people who want space and quiet over numbers | Plan B when the base is sold out; small children; a cheap same-day panda sighting on the way to Zhaojue Temple |
Research center's Dujiangyan base ('Panda Paradise')：Closed since 23 April 2026 for rebuilding, reopening date 'to be announced' — as of 11 September 2026 nothing has been published. nobody right now: do not book it, do not go, and treat every 'panda volunteer Dujiangyan' package as unverified until the center announces; platform listings still showing 8:30-16:30 and 'free entry' are stale. For a second panda day, Panda Valley 15 km away is open.
One by one
Panda Base — original zone (South Gate)
熊猫基地 老区（南大门）The place, and the reason most foreign visitors come to Chengdu: 200-plus pandas, the nurseries and the numbered villas behind the South Gate. Do not book an afternoon ticket if the pandas are the point, do not arrive at 11:00, and do not come on a Monday expecting Villa No. 6. The traps: the booking rules have changed twice in two years, so any guide older than this page is wrong; the domestic channels assume a Chinese phone number and wallet; and the walk-up window only sells 'when tickets remain', which on a weekend means not at all. Compared with the West Gate, this is where the cubs are; compared with the zoo, this is where the pandas are. For first-timers with a passport and a Trip.com morning ticket; anyone who wants cubs; families who will use the free strollers and the ¥30 bus.
Open the place →Panda Base — expansion zone & Panda Tower (West Gate)
熊猫基地 扩建区 · 熊猫塔（西大门）The same park through the quieter door: the 2022 expansion with eleven hillside houses and the Panda Tower, reached from a different metro stop. Do not mistake it for a separate attraction, and do not plan to 'do both gates' — one ticket, one entry, and the base does not publish the distance between them. Do not count on the tower: it needs a second booking, with no published route for foreign phone numbers, and it closes in bad weather. If your one morning is for cubs, the nurseries are behind the South Gate; if it is for a shorter queue and a view, this gate. For families and older visitors who want the shorter gate queue; anyone who has already seen the original zone; drivers who accept the shuttle from the Bolinghui car park.
Open the place →Panda Valley (Dujiangyan)
熊猫谷（都江堰）The Chengdu base's country outpost: a dozen-odd pandas in enclosures many times the city base's size, red pandas, and almost no crowd. Do not make it your first panda sighting — fewer animals, a 20-minute taxi from anywhere, and a WeChat-only 7-day booking window with no window on site. Do not confuse it with 'Panda Paradise' at Qingchengshan Town, which is a different institution and closed. Come after a morning at the Dujiangyan irrigation works, when the city base's crowds are not a factor. For travellers on a second panda day from Dujiangyan; anyone with a WeChat-holding friend or hotel to book, and a taxi budget.
Open the place →Chengdu Zoo (panda house)
成都动物园（大熊猫馆）Plan B: a ¥20 ticket, a window for people who cannot book online, and a metro station named after it. Do not come expecting the base — some enclosures are small and the panda house is a fraction of it — and do not follow the zoo's own loop, which saves the pandas for last. Pairing it with the base in one day works only with a morning base ticket and the zoo after 12:00. Its published hours and prices date from 2022 and its transport page from 2016; the numbers match current platform listings, but confirm on the day. For anyone who could not get a base ticket; families with small children; travellers with a spare afternoon and a Line 3 ride.
Open the place →