Panda Refuge near Chengdu

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<hr>Is it worth the $300 airfare from Beijing?<hr></blockquote>

You should have no problems finding roundtrip tickets from Beijing to Chengdu for less than $200. There are many, many flights per day between the two cities and usually at least 3 or 4 of them have large discounts (between 50 and 70%).

As Losang says, I've seen 85%-off (250 RMB) airfares between Beijing and Chengdu, so yeah, you should be able to manage for less than $300. As for more than 1,000 RMB for a drive to Wolong, a one-night stay in an average hotel, and a drive back to Chengdu, you could do that on your own for much, much less. And no, you don't see pandas "in the wild"; it's a research base in the foothills within their ancestral range.

If you really want to see pandas and are debating the cost/hassle, it's much easier to go to Chengdu and visit the Chengdu Panda Research Center just north of the city. It's a rather nice park setting, more pandas than you've ever seen in one place, and also has a museum and opportunities to hold/be photographed holding a panda just like Wolong. Guesthouses in CD do morning tours for less than 100 RMB...or you can do it yourself by public transport and spend the entire day communing with the Cuddly Ones.

thanks for your input! regarding the airfare, since we will be in China the 1st week of May, a holiday week, we're concerned those discounts won't materialize as we get closer. or that there wont be any seats! So, Chengdude, the refuge in Wolong is different than the Chengdu Research Center? can you point me in the direction where i can find out the logistics of the Research Center, e.g. hours, getting there, costs/ Thanks for your help!

Erm #3, 1st result of a Google search.
Cheers!

$135???? what are you paying for?

wellll...... it was transfer from chengdu to wolong, overnite in a 2 star hotel, entrry into the refuge with a guide and then return that same day to chengdu.

Go to the one near Chengdu instead, not the Wolong one.
Cheers!

We really enjoyed the one near Chengdu. There is public transport there, but taxis are cheap also. Get there in the morning, as soon as they open is the best, as all the pandas will be active, unlike the afternoon. Don't bother with the internal train, the park is not that big.

Wow #8, I didn't even know there was an internal train!
Cheers!