[Introduction] Over these two days, you will do two things that most visitors never come close to. On day one, you are not here to watch the pandas — you are here to take care of them. You put on a keeper's uniform, clean the enclosures, prepare the bamboo, make panda food cakes by hand, and feed them yourself. This is real keeper work, not a performance. On day two, you stand beside the Dujiangyan Irrigation System — built in 256 BC and still running today — then take a cable car up Qingcheng Mountain, one of the birthplaces of Chinese Taoism, where ancient temples disappear into cloud forest and thousand-year-old ginkgo trees line paths that have been walked by monks for centuries. Your English-speaking guide is with you throughout both days. Hotel pickup and drop-off included. Accommodation and all meals included.

[Day One]

Morning · Hotel Pickup Your guide and driver arrive at your hotel lobby at 07:30 for the one-hour drive to Dujiangyan Panda Valley. Your guide uses the journey to walk you through today's keeper experience and everything you need to know before you arrive.

Morning · Dujiangyan Panda Valley — Keeper Experience Begins Arrive at 08:30. Change into your keeper uniform. The day begins in earnest.

Cleaning the Enclosures Follow the professional keeper into the panda living area to clear out the previous day's bamboo debris and waste. This is the first task of every keeper's morning — and the closest you will get to the pandas all day. Less glamorous than it sounds. More memorable than almost anything else you will do in Chengdu.

Preparing the Bamboo Move to the bamboo preparation area. Select, sort, and cut today's bamboo and bamboo shoots. Your keeper explains how to assess freshness, which sections the pandas prefer, and how food quantities vary by age and individual temperament. Every panda, it turns out, has strong opinions about its food.

Making Panda Cakes Panda cakes — wowotou — are the staple supplement of every giant panda's diet: a dense mixture of corn flour, soy, rice powder, and carefully balanced nutrients. You measure the ingredients, mix the dough, and shape each cake by hand to an exact weight standard. The keeper checks each one. There is no approximating.

Feeding Time Carry the food you have prepared into the enclosure and deliver it to the pandas. Watch them eat, play, and rest in their natural environment — and feel the moment a panda takes bamboo directly from your hand. This is the part of the day that guests describe for years afterward.

Midday · Lunch Break at 12:00 for lunch at a restaurant near the base. Simple, local, unhurried. Spice level adjusted in advance — fully mild available on request.

Afternoon · Keeper Experience Continues Return at 13:00 for the afternoon session. The core tasks repeat — and the pandas, now rested, are typically more active in the afternoon. The best photographs of the day happen here.

Late Afternoon · Check In to Dujiangyan Guesthouse Experience ends at 17:00. Drive to your boutique guesthouse in Dujiangyan town and check in.

Evening · Dinner Your guide takes you to a local Dujiangyan restaurant for dinner — a quiet small-city evening after a full and physical day.

[Day Two]

Morning · Breakfast Breakfast at the guesthouse at 08:00. Depart shortly after.

Morning · Dujiangyan Irrigation System Arrive at the Dujiangyan scenic area at 08:30. Your guide explains how the three core structures — the Fish Mouth Levee, the Flying Sand Weir, and the Bottle-Neck Channel — work together as a single self-regulating system that has required no mechanical intervention in over 2,000 years. Built in 256 BC by governor Li Bing and his son, it converted the flood-prone Chengdu Plain into the most productive agricultural land in China. It is still doing exactly that today. The scenic area also includes Erwang Temple — dedicated to Li Bing and his son, still active with local worshippers. Approximately 2 hours at the site.

Midday · Lunch Lunch at a local restaurant near the scenic area at approximately 10:30.

Afternoon · Qingcheng Mountain Depart for Qingcheng Mountain at 11:30 — a 20-minute drive. Take the cable car up through cloud and forest to the mountain's upper temples. Qingcheng Mountain is one of the founding sites of Chinese Taoism — a tradition that began here over 1,800 years ago. Ancient temple courtyards, incense drifting through pine forest, stone-carved inscriptions, Taoist monks going about their daily practice. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else near Chengdu — still, deep, and unhurried in a way that city life never is. Your guide introduces the key temples and the history of Taoism in plain English, then gives you time to simply walk and absorb. Cable car down at the end. Approximately 2.5 hours on the mountain.

Late Afternoon · Drive Back to Chengdu Depart at 15:30 for the one-hour return drive to Chengdu.

Evening · Dinner Back in Chengdu, your guide takes you to a local Sichuan restaurant for a final dinner — the right ending to two extraordinary days.

End of Tour · Hotel Drop-Off Your driver returns you to your hotel. Your guide says goodbye and hands you a personal list of recommendations for your remaining time in Chengdu.

[What's Included]

✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off (Chengdu city area) ✓ English-speaking private guide — full 2 days ✓ Dujiangyan Panda Valley entrance ticket ✓ Full panda keeper experience fee ✓ Keeper uniform ✓ Dujiangyan Irrigation System entrance ticket ✓ Qingcheng Mountain entrance ticket + cable car (up and down) ✓ 1 night boutique guesthouse in Dujiangyan (breakfast included) ✓ All meals — 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners ✓ Private vehicle throughout both days

[Not Included]

✗ Transport from your Chengdu hotel to the meeting point ✗ Personal purchases or shopping ✗ Gratuity (optional) ✗ Travel insurance (strongly recommended)

[Good to Know]

📍 Meeting point: Your hotel lobby — guide arrives at 07:30 sharp on Day One 🐼 Keeper experience spots are strictly limited — only a small number of participants accepted each day. Please book at least 7 days in advance. 👕 Keeper uniform provided — please wear loose, comfortable clothing underneath 🚫 No perfume, scented sunscreen, or strong-smelling products during the keeper experience — these disturb the pandas 👟 Comfortable walking or hiking shoes essential for both days — Qingcheng Mountain paths involve moderate gradients 🌧 Qingcheng Mountain is frequently misty and wet — bring a rain layer and a warm jacket regardless of forecast 🌶 Spice level for all meals discussed in advance — fully mild available throughout 👶 Keeper experience recommended for ages 12 and above — please note children's ages at booking ❌ Free cancellation up to 72 hours before. No refund within 72 hours — keeper experience spots cannot be released once reserved.

[Pricing]

$499 per person Private group (2 guests): $899 flat rate Includes hotel pickup · 2-day English guide · panda keeper experience · all tickets + cable car · 1-night accommodation · all meals · private vehicle

[Button] Book This Experience →