Panda Volunteer Program: an Honest Review and 5 Things You MUST to Know Before Signing Up!

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So. You’ve got a thing for pandas do ya? Zoos aren’t quite doing it for ya like they used to? Do you need a higher dose of pandage in your life? CUZ SAMEEEE. I absolutely love pandas. Like. LOVE them. Easily in my top three favorite animals, right up there with cheetahs and foxes. So when I visited Chengdu, China in 2019, I knew that I wanted to sign up for a panda volunteer program.

So today I’m sharing my experience becoming an official panda volunteer, and what you can expect on your Panda Volunteer Program!

Note: You’ll notice I interchange “panda base,” “panda reserve,” and “panda research center” a lot during this post. They all mean the same thing in this case haha.

Panda Sanctuaries? WHY??

Giant pandas are pretty much the universal icon for animal conservation. They are THE national treasure of China. When you think of animal conservation, bam. You think of pandas. I mean, look at the WWF’s logo. PANDA. How did they even get that honor?

Welllllll…it the shortest summary possible, because they’re cute.

But in a slightly longer summary, pandas were on the brink. Contrary to popular belief, the number of pandas in the wild were not declining because pandas were too “stupid” or “lazy” to reproduce. The number one cause of panda endangerment, both past and present, are people. First, from habitat loss and encroachment, and then from poaching.

Seriously, can you believe people used to HUNT POOR LITTLE (okay, big) PANDAS?? Way back in 1929, the freaking Roosevelt brothers (yes, Mr. Teddy the 26th president of the USA) have the title of being the first foreigners to shoot a panda.

Between the years of 1936-1946, foreigners smuggled fourteen pandas out of China. People were literally out there stealing whole pandas y’all. On top of that, pandas were hunted for their fur, meat, and paws.

What did China do about it??

It wasn’t until the early 1960s that China really made the effort to combat panda extinction. China established the first four panda reserves, or sanctuaries in the country, in Wolong, Baihe, Wanglang and Labahe respectively. They also issued a nature decree that strictly prohibited the hunting of rare species, including the golden money and giant panda.

Still, wild panda numbers plummeted. In the late 1980s, there was estimated to only be about a thousand pandas left in the wild. Fast-forward a generation or so, and the Panda reserves had an incredible impact on panda conservations. With the numbers of while pandas currently back up to about 1,800, the giant panda has officially been upgraded from “endangered” to “vunerable.” Yay progress!

What IS the Panda Volunteer Program?

The most popular panda reserve, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, was established in 1987 with the intent to promote conservation and educational tourism. Yes, you could visit and JUST see pandas, but the educational aspect of the park encouraged easy learning and stressed the importance of nature conservation.

However, for those wanting to get more up close and personal with pandas, you can sign up for a Panda Volunteer Program. It was a little difficult to find the background information on the Panda Volunteer Program, but I believe it was founded in 2001 as a way to increase funding at the Panda Research Bases while having volunteer do a bit of grunt work and smile doing it haha.

These Panda Volunteer Programs take place at a panda reserve under the watchful eye of the staff. There are varying lengths and duties depending on the panda volunteer program you select (ranging from full-day to weeks), but they all provide the necessary training, knowledge, and tools needed for the work. I personally signed up for a day tour.

Where Can You Volunteer with Pandas?

Out of the four total panda bases open to the public in Sichuan province, three of those bases have panda volunteer programs: Dujiangyan Panda Base, Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base, and the Wolong Panda Base.

The Dujiangyan Panda Base is the closest to Chengdu, only about an hour away by train, and can accept the most volunteers a day (50). Out of the four bases, it will be the busiest, but the city of Dujiangyan has a lot to do so you may be able to squeeze another activity in after your panda volunteer day.

Bifengxia Panda Base is the furthest away from Chengdu (2.5-3 hours), but it actually has the most pandas. It is the least busy, and also is the only base where you can do extended panda volunteer programs (3-days & week long programs). They can support 40 volunteers a day.

The Wolong Panda Base is the largest breeding center for giant pandas (so LOTS OF BABIES!), and doesn’t feel to busy either. From Chengdu, it’ll take you about 2 hours. This base only allows 15 volunteers a day. This base also has an option to volunteer with red pandas! This is where I decided to do my panda volunteer program.

How Much Does it Cost to Be A Panda Volunteer?

Yes, you have to pay to be a panda volunteer. I know, I know, but it’s a funding initiative for the research centers. AND – you get up close and personal with pandas, so in my opinion, it’s worth it.

But – it’s not cheap.

In general, panda volunteer program mandatory “donation” is between 700-1000 RMB (100-150ish USD). That price includes the actual fee to do the volunteering work, your uniform rental (which is fresh and clean!), lunch, transportation vehicle while at the base, and your official panda volunteer certificate! Some may even include an English translator depending on the tour you book. There are also programs that include a driver/translator/guide – SUPER helpful if you don’t speak Chinese, haha.

Name the Price sis!

I personally booked my panda volunteer program at Wolong as a Viator Tour. I chose a tour that included a driver and a guide because 1) I don’t speak Chinese, and 2) there is no train to the Wolong Panda Base. I really didn’t want to deal with trying to figure out the bus schedule, and if I needed a taxi I might as well get a bundle deal. The price actually depends on how many people are in your party. Basically, the more people, the cheaper. Here’s a quick price breakdown for this tour:

The total cost of my panda volunteer program (with an English-speaking guide) was $158.98 per person (for a 2 person group).

Number or People	Price (per person)
1	$266.67
2	$158.98
3	$138.47
4	$112.83
5	$101.54
15 (max)	$81.03

Unfortunately, my exact panda volunteer tour is no longer offered, but book here for a comparable tour!

How Old Do You Have to Be a Panda Volunteer?

The minimum age to volunteer at a panda base is 10 years old at the Dujiangyan Panda Base, and 12 years old at Bifengxia and Wolong Panda Bases. The age cut off for Dujiangyan Panda Base is 70 years old, while Bifengxia and Wolong Panda Bases are at 65 years old.

Can You Hug a Panda?

If you were hoping to hug a panda during your panda volunteer program, I have disappointing news. You cannot. It USED to be a thing, but as of November 2018, all panda hugging experiences have been suspended. It didn’t hurt the pandas, per say, but it wasn’t helping them either and was just a bit of a distraction from their normal routine. So if it didn’t help the pandas, it wasn’t worth it.

So in short: no, you can’t hug a panda.

When to Book?

I would DEFINITELYYY recommend booking in advance. These programs fill up fast, so aim to book at least two weeks in advance, or two months during the peak seasons (late spring – early fall). It would suck to miss out on this opportunity because you waited too long.

What is the Panda Volunteer Program Like?

Finallyyyy, with all that logistic stuff out of the way, we can move onto the juicy part of the post: the actual volunteering experience! Since we booked a tour that provided transportation, all we had to do was roll out of bed and wait at our hotel to be picked up at 6:00am.

I have NEVER woken up that early on vacation before. I don’t even wake up that early at home for work…and my work starts at 7:00am…and I have a 30 minute commute.

Anyways, back to the story.

We were greeted by our English-speaking tour guide, Lily, and a driver. I didn’t catch his name, and he also didn’t speak English so we didn’t talk at all, haha. During the long drive, our tour guide dropped some dope panda facts and also explained a bit of history behind the research bases. Since I decided to volunteer at the Wolong base, Lily gave us information on the huge 2008 earthquake that devastated the Sichuan province.

This was our car window view on the drive. V moody.

Lily actually surprised we booked the trip on that specific day because it was Single’s Day in China (11/11) and everyone in the country was currently online shopping. haha.

Set-Up

As soon as I stepped out of the car, my jaw DROPPED. The Wolong Panda Base is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The nearby mountain tops glistened with morning dew as soft fog rolled into the valley.

Freakin’ gorgeous.

Anyways, it was also cold, so we headed into the volunteer building to pick up our uniforms and paperwork (security agreement). You’ll get access to a locker to store your bags and large jackets and such.

Tip: You can’t Freely Take Pictures

You will not be able to use any kind of large camera during the panda volunteer experience. Only take your phone for photos, or a small compact camera that can fit in your pocket.

Sorry bloggers and vloggers.

Most of the time, you won’t even be able to take photos yourself, but Lily was more than happy to snap a few pics when allowed. If you do not have a guide, then I’m pretty sure the staff will be happy to take a few as well.

Little did I know that this would be my last selfie as a panda volunteer.

While we waited for other volunteers to show up, we ate the breakfast boxes that our hotel packed for us and gave Lily our completed forms to turn in. There were three other volunteers that day who joined us, all Japanese aunties who were visiting one of their sons in Chengdu. They were super nice and called me pretty *cry emoji*

Before we set out, we donned our uniforms and gloves, the staff gave us a safety talk (aka don’t get close to the pandas because they are LITERAL BEARS), and we received our volunteer badges, ready to work!

As you move around the park, you are chauffered in a little shuttle. A park staff member drives, and everyone else piles in. The other three volunteers had their own guide/translator (the women also didn’t speak Chinese).

Morning Work

The morning was mostly grunt work. We went to the adult pen for cleaning. The staff members ushered the pandas into their indoor enclosure so that we could clean outside. This included sweeping and scooping up panda poop (which surprisingly didn’t smell at all – but it WAS heavy).

I was terrible at it.

Lily thought my sweeping was hilarious. Hilariously bad. Look how unnatural I look hahah.

After, we had to split the panda’s bamboo. As in we were slamming giant stalks of bamboo against the ground with all of our body weight so that it would be nicer and easier for the pandas to munch on. Basically like “cutting their food” for them.

Pandas sure are pampered.

Then, the pandas and volunteers swapped places. The were ushered outside so we could clean the indoor enclosure. We didn’t have to break bamboo inside, but we DID have to mop.

I’m not sure which was worse.

It was surprisingly tiring, but maybe just because I never clean at home. In my opinion, this part was the most draining task of the day. Thankfully, from here it’s all downhill in terms of effort and uphill in terms of pure panda fun!

Break Time

After we cleaned both their inside and outside enclosures, we got a mini break (~1hr). During this time, we had the opportunity to walk around the park and look at some of the other pandas in the park.

My favorite panda was this random teenager panda who was just slouched on a climbing structure and blankly looking at the mountains. I watched him for a solid five minutes and he didn’t move. What was he thinking? What thoughts were troubling him?

He was a whole mood. He turned his head once when someone called his name (they all have plaques with their names and backgrounds on the side of their enclosures), but aside from that, he was lost in his own mind.

Trust me, one hour was notttt enough time, but it was a good chunk. If you didn’t already know, adult pandas are solitary animals, so there’s actually quite a bit of walking in these panda bases to see all of the enclosures. In fact, I didn’t even make it to the red pandas since we only had an hour. However, the BESTT part about the Wolong Panda Base though is the PANDA KINDERGARDEN.

You know how I said Wolong Panda Base has the largest breeding program? Yeah. That means A WHOLE BUNCH OF BABY PANDAS. You can watch as the staff feeds them milk and bamboo bites while the tumble around with each other. It will melt your HEART. I mostly took videos, so you’ll have to wait until I drop the YouTube video to see them in all of their clumsy glory.

Since pandas don’t display any aggressive behavior for the first few years of their life, the panda kindergarten is just full of bumbling little panda toddlers. I could seriously watch them all day. But alas. Back to work.

Panda Encounter #1!

We headed back to the adult enclosures for our first opportunity to get “close” to the pandas. Through the indoor enclosure bars, we fed the adult pandas snacks. It was one of the best moments of my life.

THEY ARE SO CUTEEEE. Especially when their little ears twitch when the staff members call their names.

That said, this part does have the potential to get you swiped by a panda, and not in a fun way, so make sure to listen to your guide and the staff members. Do exactly what they say and you’ll be a-okay!

Lunch

Time for lunch!

Since we were in the panda volunteer program, we had lunch with the staff at their lunch building. Lunch was served cafeteria style and like all the food I had in Chengdu – it was super tasty.

Lily pointed out Sichuan peppers in the noodles that would instantly numb our tongues. (Later I learned more about these peppers at the Chuancais Musuem!) You’ll have a might have a liiiitle extra time if you want to try to squeeze in some more sightseeing, but I spent the whole time chatting with Lily about Sichuan province.

Movie Time

You’ll get a chance to let your food digest as you watch a documentary about China’s panda research centers and the first base to attempt breeding pandas in captivity.

I won’t spoil it for y’all, but I was THIIIIS close to balling my eyes out. It’s incredibly moving, and if you weren’t already passionate about panda conservation – you will be after this. Giant panda researches have worked SO hard to protect these animals and get them back on track to survival.

Panda Encounter #2!

Usually after, you might have more work to do to clean panda enclosures, but I think it must have been a slow day for the staff (or the pandas were unusually tidy) so there wasn’t any additional cleaning work for us volunteers.

Darn.

Panda Chef

Next up was a super fun hour or so. Pandas love to eat bamboo, and that’s great and all, but in the wild they also eat things like berries and uh…rodents.

Yeah. Pandas are omnivores. It surprised me too.

So in captivity, pandas are fed a nutritious blend of goodies all mashed up into a patty cake so that they can get those extra vitamins and minerals that they don’t get from bamboo. And as a panda volunteer, it was our job to make them! We all washed our hands (in FREEZING COLD water), even our guides/translators who were not doing the panda volunteer program, and got to work!

I was equally horrible at this and Lily thought it was hilarious. The other three aunties volunteering that day were pros in the kitchen and showed me how to make the perfectly shaped panda cake!

End of the Day

Whewww. Finally. At around 15:30 (3:30pm), your day as a panda volunteer will come to an end. If you have free time, you may be able to wander and look at more pandas, but we took our time making panda cakes and enjoying the experience together that we just had a short bathroom break and ten minutes that we used to relax on a bench and look at the mountains.

There is a gift shop, but I totally forgot to check it out (the biggest mistake in my LIFE). We returned our uniforms, grabbed our stored bags, and Lily guided us back to the car to head home.

TLDR ; Tips to Know For the Panda Volunteer Program

For the most comfortable experience, here are a few tips:

1. Wear comfortable shoes: You’re going to be on your feet almost the entire eight hours so you’ll want your comfiest shoes! The more cushion the better!
2. Wear comfortable clothes: Again, you’ll be working, so no need to squeeze into your cutest suit or flowy Instagram skirt. You’ll want clothing that will give you full range of motion as well (especially when you need to break the bamboo!)
3. Leave your DSLRs in your bag: You’re not going to be able to freely take photos while working. This isn’t a photoshoot tour. I just gave Lily my phone so she could take pictures at the appropriate times (the staff will let the guides know).
4. No perfume: Or strong scents at all for that matter. Pandas are very sensitive to smell and the staff will tell panda volunteers to either wash it off or not participate in order to keep the health of the pandas as the number 1 priority.
5. Stay Healthy: If you are sick, you will not be able to volunteer. I believe panda volunteers have to turn in a health examination form prior to volunteering, but since I booked with a tour with a guide, I think they took care of that for me (in the pre-volunteer paperwork).

Panda Volunteer Program: Conclusion

Overall, the volunteering at a panda base in Chengdu is easily one of the best experiences I’ve had IN MY LIFE, let alone in China. It isn’t the cheapest activity, but if you can swing it, I would definitely recommend signing up.

The opportunity to see giant pandas even the tiniestttt bit closer was already worth it, but learning how much work actually goes into panda conservation was mind-blowing. Y’all – it LITERALLY is a full time job.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences as a panda volunteer! What do you think? Are you ready to sign up for the Panda Volunteer Program? Have you ever done anything similar on your travels? Let me know in the comments below!

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