Such Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China

Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

A Special Treat

We looked forward to seeing panda bears since we booked our month long visit to China. At several stops along the trip we were teased with photos and souvenirs of panda bears.  When we enjoyed a world class experience on our stay at the St Regis Chengdu, we even got a pair of stuffed panda bears as a welcome gift. But when we got up extra early to visit the cute panda bears from our stay in Chengdu, we were so excited.

It took us about an hour to get to the Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding. As soon as we entered, we knew we were at the right place. Buildings, statues and wall art were all covered in panda bears. There was even a panda post office with panda stamps!

Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding.jpg

Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding.jpg

Panda Post Office.jpg

Our guide had her route all mapped out. She ensured that we saw the maximum number of cute panda bears in Chengdu with the fewest number of people in our way. Different enclosures were used for different aged pandas. And we saw most of the enclosures on our visit.

Panda Visit.jpg

Pandas Can Eat – A Lot !

The first panda bear we saw was lying on his back chewing on bamboo shoots. We soon discovered that the panda bears eat a lot. Panda bears were originally carnivores. But they ultimately grew too big to hunt and today they much prefer to eat bamboo. In fact, the word “Panda” most likely is derived from the Nepalese word that means “bamboo-eater.” A full grown panda eats for 10 to 12 hours per day and can eat about 25 to as much as 80 pounds of bamboo a day to meet their energy needs. We saw trucks laden with bamboo shoots all around the park.

Panda Food Bamboo Shoots.jpg

Pandas Eat Bamboo Shoots.jpg

The next time we saw an adult male panda in the trees, he too was chomping on bamboo. We wondered if that was all that they did!

Pandas Eat Bamboo Shoots - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Pandas Eat Bamboo Shoots - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Then we happened on a panda bear picnic. The group of toddler pandas sat and shared their bamboo. It almost seemed as if they were chatting at times.

Pandas Eat Bamboo Shoots - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Pandas Eat Bamboo Shoots - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

The cute panda bears in Chengdu sure did seem to eat a lot!

Playful Pandas

When we walked through the park, we saw a wide variety of enclosures for the panda bears. And lots of different jungle gym type structures for them to play on. We visited a large enclosure with a number of pandas playing. They climbed up to various levels and rough-housed with each other. They seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Pandas Play - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Pandas Play - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Pandas Play - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

When we looked close, we even caught sight of a panda curled up in the crook of a tree. He was finished eating and playing. And it must have been time for a nap!

Pandas Sleep Nap - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

The cute panda bears in Chengdu ignored us and played on.

Panda Youngsters

Most of the panda bears were in outside areas. But we visited a few buildings with panda bears inside.

Panda Babies.jpg

Several times we got the chance to see baby panda bears. We saw them playing in a crib. And we saw them being bottle fed. The babies were all in rooms with glass on the front. We were hustled quickly past the babies with barely a chance to oooh and aaah.

Panda Babies - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Panda Babies - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

Panda Babies - Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu China.jpg

The cute panda bears in Chengdu were of all sizes and ages. But the babies captured our hearts.

We Found Such Cute Panda Bears In Chengdu

We spent most of the morning as we wandered around and enjoyed great views of the panda bears. It was great to see pandas in different environments. And to see that they do more than just eat!

On the way out we saw a sign for the enclosures for the red pandas. We wished we had time to see those too. But it left us with something for a return visit!

Red Pandas.jpg

On our travels around the world we have had amazing bucket list animal encounters!  So we were so glad we saw the cute panda bears in Chengdu! Many people went home with bags of panda bear souvenirs as a reminder. The panda visit was certainly a highlight of our visit to Chengdu. And one of the things we treasured from our visit to China.

Did you see panda bears in Chengdu? Weren’t they just the cutest things?

Photograph Copyright

All the photographs used in this article belong to the owners of the website www.RetiredAndTravelling.com . Copying or using them without explicit permission is prohibited and is considered copyright infringement.

PIN To Pinterest:

Panda bears in Chengdu on a tour of China with Viking Cruises.jpg

Panda bears in Chengdu on a tour of China with Viking Cruises.jpg

We would love if you could share this!
About TravelAtWill 737 Articles
Travel blogger and photographer! Scuba diving, luxury cruising, chocoholic, sea and sunshine addicts, camera attached and just generally curious! Join us on our adventures!

28 Comments

  1. RED PANDAS??? I would have made time for that! I cant believe it, I am going to have to google it to see pics now! I would definitely love to explore the Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding. What a fun time to explore the fun panda world. I have seen several in zoos here in America but never so many. I bet the babies are too much fun!

    • Eric, We were sorry we did not see the sign for the red pandas until we were leaving. But it was great to see so many panda bears all in one spot. Definitely a place to visit. Linda

  2. Like all the cat videos I see on You Tube, I want to shout out and say ahhhhhhhhhh. They are so cute and I would love to check this out on my next visit to China. They are just so cute!!

    • Danik, I know what you mean. We could have sat and stared for hours. For the baby enclosures, they knew that people would dawdle so they really moved us along. Definitely something to add to any plans to visit China. Linda

    • Ursula, I am glad I brought back good panda bear memories. It was certainly one of the highlights of our China trip. The videos are a great way to remember your visit. Linda

  3. How cute are those baby pandas! I think I actually let out an awe sound. It’s silly but I never thought of pandas as carnivores before but of course, they are. It would be interesting to see this panda research base.

    • Melissa, It was so great to see so many panda bears all at one time. I am not surprised to hear you let out an awwww sound at the babies. They were the big hit. Linda

  4. I would love to see the Pandas! In Australia, we saw the Koalas both in captivity and in the wild. All they do is eat and sleep. Sounds similar to the Pandas.

    Those baby Pandas are so cute! I would go to Chengdu just to see the Pandas!

  5. OMG, how adorable. The baby pandas, just so cute. Had no idea they were voracious eaters of bamboo. Fascinating. Looking at the pandas playing just brings a big smile to my face. What a wonderful experience, one I’d like to have as well.

  6. I adore pandas! They are gorgeous and those babies in your photos are so cute. I was lucky enough to be in Chiang Mai when a baby panda was born. They set up a video feed so you could see the baby with its mother. I saw it when it was 5 days old. It was amazing how small it was!

  7. OMG the pandas are sooo cute! I really enjoyed reading this post especially I really took my time to look each of your panda pictures because they are just too adorable! Also, pandas eats for 10 to 12 hours per day? Wow they must really love to eat a lot. I’m just curious though, is there a chance for visitors to take part in bottle feeding the panda babies? Hopefully I can visit Chengdu soon just so I can see them in person.

    • Carissa, I am glad you enjoyed our panda-fest. Wanted to share lots of pics. I am not sure if visitors can actually get up close with any of the pandas. We were kept far back or behind glass for many of the encounters. Linda

  8. Wow! I did not know that Panda’s eat that much! But they are just absolutely adorable, the chatting and the playing pandas made me smile ?? Love the little Panda curled up for a nap in the tree ♥️

  9. It would be so good to be a panda in my next birth. Eat, eat and eat… no worry about figure 😀 Great pics. So sad that I have not seen one in real yet. 🙂

  10. You had such a fabulous trip! One of the reasons I would like to visit China are pandas. Chengdu China is of my top places to see there. Pandas are so cute, especially cubes. I would love to photograph them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*