I had originally intended to hire
a tour guide who would organise a
jam-packed itinerary, but after he
was fully booked, I then forgot to look
elsewhere. In retrospect, it actually
worked out well to march to the beat
of our own drum. As well travelled as
she is, my five-year-old still has a very
short attention span. If you have older
kids and wish to cover lots of ground,
then it would be worth booking a
guide and private car.
At first glance, Chengdu looks like
a fairly typical Chinese industrial
city. However, scratch the surface
and you’ll find pockets of greenery,
friendly faces and incredible – albeit
punchy – food. With a plethora of
accommodation options available,
my priority was somewhere with an
indoor pool. There’s no better way to
bribe a little one than negotiating an
hour of temples followed by a swim.
Located on the riverfront, the Shangri
La ticked all our boxes. I also liked the
fact that the hotel has four restaurants
to choose from. Whilst I am usually
an adventurous eater, I am a bit more
cautious of food hygiene in mainland
China with my kids.
Panda pops
Top of our agenda was a visit to the
Chengdu Research Base of Giant
Panda Breeding, aka the Chengdu
Panda Base. The facility was
established to rescue and protect this
endangered species, which now has
a population of fewer than 2,000
worldwide. Entry is relatively cheap
at RMB 58, however you can pay
an extra RMB 2,000 per person to
spend an hour learning about the
pandas and have your photo taken
with one! Whilst pricey, this was truly
a once-in-a-lifetime experience for
us. But be warned, you must book
this programme in advance (our hotel
concierge organised this for us), as
there are only 50 spots per day.
The Panda Base is a 30-minute
drive north of central Chengdu. It is
worth arriving early (around 8am) as
not only are the pandas at their most
active, but you will have the park to
yourself. I was concerned that it might
feel a bit like a zoo, however the park
has been beautifully designed with
open spaces and large areas for the
pandas to roam around. If you don’t
fancy the long walks involved, there
are shuttle buses available. The 600
acres of parkland are also home to
red pandas, swans, peacocks, birds
and insects. You can easily spend
half a day wandering around and it is
stroller-friendly.
One of our favourite parts of the
park was gazing through the nursery
window at the sleeping baby pandas.
Suffice to say, they were probably
the cutest things I have ever seen.
Those paying extra for the ‘panda
experience’ are given a fascinating
insight into the life of the panda and
