Aelfgifu Travels

Hi Aelf Crew,

Whilst in Chengdu, I of course had to visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base (Xiongmao Jidi), the biggest research facility of its kind in the world.

I went in May, when the daytime temperature was around 28 °C. Therefore by the afternoon, the pandas had all retreated inside to their air conditioning to escape the heat!

Top tip from Aelfgifu: I would definitely recommend going in the morning in hotter months, so that you can get the full experience whilst they’re still active outside.

I did get to walk around the outdoor red panda area, which was an experience I’ll never forget and captured with my excellent photography skills below:

In addition, I went on a weekend, so there were large queues to get inside to the air conditioned indoor units where the pandas were now hiding. I did overheat myself in these queues!

Whilst it may appear my takeaway is negative: long queues, intense heat and no pandas – from what I did see, it was an incredible experience and I’d still recommend going, as long as you follow the lesson learnt from Aelfgifu!

Top Tip to Learn from Aelfgifu:

• If you’re visiting in the summer, aim to arrive in the morning. The pandas are more active outside before the midday heat drives them to migrate indoors to the air-conditioned enclosures.

Have you visited the Panda Sanctuary and had better luck than me? Let me know below!

What’s black and white and red all over? A sunburned panda,

Aelfgifu