Chengdu Panda Base: Tickets, Best Time to Go and How to Get There

The short version

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (成都大熊猫繁育研究基地), usually called the Chengdu Panda Base, is the easiest place in the world to see giant pandas. It is inside Chengdu, about 10 km north of the city center.

1. Book online with your passport, up to 14 days ahead. Every visitor needs a real-name ticket, except young children and visitors aged 60 and over.
2. Adults pay RMB 55. Children aged 6 and under or under 1.3 m enter free.
3. Choose a morning ticket and arrive at opening time: 7:30 from March to October, 8:00 from November to February. Pandas are most active early and sleep much of the afternoon.
4. Use the West Gate on busy days: take Metro Line 3, then a short shuttle bus.
5. Allow 3 to 4 hours. The park is large and hilly.

Prices, hours and booking rules come from the base’s official website and its 2026 National Day notice, checked on 29 September 2026.

Chengdu Panda Base tickets

Prices

Students over 18: the base checks a student card. Foreign student cards may not be accepted, so be ready to pay the difference at the gate.

How to book as a foreigner

Tickets are real-name: one person, one ID, one ticket, and each ID can buy one ticket per day.

• When: up to 14 days ahead. Tickets for busy days sell out, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
• Where: the base’s official WeChat account or mini-program (成都大熊猫繁育研究基地), or authorized platforms: Trip.com (Ctrip), Meituan, Douyin, Tongcheng, and the Chengdu scenic bus accounts. Trip.com is the easiest in English.
• What you need: your name and passport number exactly as in your passport.
• Choose a slot:
  • Morning ticket: entry from 7:30 to 12:00 (8:00 to 12:00 in winter)
  • Afternoon ticket: entry from 12:00 to 17:00 (12:00 to 16:30 in winter)

Buy only from official channels. The base warns that tickets from unofficial sellers may not work, and that no paid “fast entry” exists.

Refunds

Unused tickets can be refunded through the channel you bought them from, from 17:00 on your visit date for 30 days, under a rule in force since 27 August 2026. Used tickets cannot be refunded.

At the gate

Go to the lane for original ID documents and scan or show your original passport. Everyone in your group needs their own ticket and ID, including children who enter free.

Opening hours

The base is open every day. It limits visitors to 85,000 a day (45,000 in the morning and 40,000 in the afternoon), and pauses entry when 36,000 people are inside at once.

When to go to see active pandas

Timing matters more than anything else.

• Arrive at opening time. Pandas are fed in the morning and are most active, eating and climbing, from opening to about 10:00.
• Afternoons are sleepy. Most pandas nap from late morning, often high in a tree or out of sight.
• Cooler days are better. Pandas do not cope well with heat. From June to September, they spend much of the day in air-conditioned indoor enclosures, and you see them through glass. October to April is the best season.
• Light rain is fine. Pandas are often more active on cool, damp days, and there are fewer visitors.
• Avoid Chinese holidays if you can, especially 1 to 7 October, 1 to 5 May, Chinese New Year and summer weekends.

How to get to the Chengdu Panda Base

The base has two main entrances, the West Gate (西大门) and the South Gate (南大门). On busy days, the base recommends the West Gate, which has shorter queues.

West Gate by metro

1. Take Metro Line 3 to Junqu Zongyiyuan (军区总医院) station and leave by Exit B.
2. Walk about 20 m to the bus stop outside the station.
3. Take shuttle bus 409 directly to the West Gate, about 10 minutes.
4. Or take bus 110, 110A or 659 to Yulei Lu Cuiwei Lukou (玉垒路翠微路口) and walk about 600 m.

South Gate by metro

• Metro Line 3 to Xiongmao Dadao / Panda Avenue (熊猫大道) station, Exit A, then shuttle bus 408 to the South Gate.
• Or Metro Line 3 to Dongwuyuan / Chengdu Zoo (动物园) station, then bus 655 or 87 to the South Gate.

Pay for the metro and buses with the transport QR code in Alipay or WeChat. See Alipay for foreigners.

Scenic direct buses

Direct tourist buses run from central areas such as Chunxi Road and Kuanzhai Alley. Search for 景区直通车 in WeChat or Alipay, or ask your hotel. They are useful for an early start without changing trains.

Taxi or DiDi

The base’s reference taxi fares:

Fares and times depend on traffic. Set the destination as 成都大熊猫繁育研究基地西大门 (West Gate) or 南大门 (South Gate). See how to get a taxi in China.

Inside the base

The base covers about 238 hectares of bamboo forest, lakes and hills, and its giant panda population is more than 270, according to the base. Not every panda lives on this site; some are at its other centers or on loan to zoos abroad.

What to see:

• Adult giant panda enclosures: outdoor areas with climbing frames and bamboo. Go here first, while the pandas are eating.
• Panda nurseries and subadult enclosures: young pandas, the most playful. In the birthing season (usually late summer and autumn), newborn cubs may be on view through glass.
• Red pandas: they roam more freely in their own forest area and are often active when the giant pandas sleep.
• The Giant Panda Museum explains panda biology and conservation.
• Lakes and bamboo paths: a calm walk after the crowds peak.

A good route: enter at opening time, go straight to the adult and young panda enclosures, visit the red pandas, then the museum as the day warms up.

Getting around inside

• Sightseeing carts run from about 7:30 to 17:30 in summer and 8:00 to 17:00 in winter. They cost extra and save a lot of uphill walking.
• Audio guide: rent from self-service lockers with WeChat or Alipay. It costs RMB 30 a day for the whole park or RMB 20 for the museum, and English is available.
• Human guide service is available at the South and West gates. Call +86 28 8351 0022 or ask on site.

Can you hold or touch a panda?

No. The Chengdu Panda Base does not offer panda holding or touching. Visitors watch from viewing areas, and the base’s rules forbid feeding or teasing the animals. Drones, skateboards, smoking and pets are also banned.

Be cautious of tours that promise a panda hug or “keeper for a day” access. Official panda bases do not sell panda holding.

Chengdu Panda Base or another panda center?

CCRCGP is the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, a national organization separate from the Chengdu base. Distances and times are approximate.

Our recommendation: for most visitors, the Chengdu Panda Base is the best choice: the most pandas, easy transport and a half-day visit. Choose Dujiangyan or Panda Valley if you are also visiting the Dujiangyan irrigation system or Mount Qingcheng, or if you want fewer people.

According to the base, Panda Valley tickets also cost RMB 55 for adults, with the same real-name booking and morning and afternoon slots.

Tips for your visit

• Book the morning slot and plan breakfast early, or bring a snack.
• Bring water and comfortable shoes. The paths are long and include slopes.
• Strollers work on the main paths, but some viewing areas have steps.
• Be quiet near the enclosures. No flash photography through glass.
• Carry your passport. You need it at the gate, even with a free ticket.
• Combine a morning with pandas and an afternoon at a teahouse in People’s Park or a Sichuan cooking class. See our Chengdu guide.

Plan your Chengdu trip

Chengdu fits well with Chongqing, Xi’an or Zhangjiajie. See our Chongqing travel guide, and our China with kids guide if pandas are the highlight for your children. Our attraction tickets service can book Panda Base tickets for your group, and our free trip planning service can build the day around an early start, a driver and the right entrance.