Dujiangyan Panda Volunteering: work with keepers, lunch included

Clean cages, prepare food, watch keepers train pandas, make panda cakes

A panda volunteering experience at Dujiangyan Panda Base near Chengdu where you work directly with keepers on conservation tasks—cleaning enclosures, preparing bamboo, observing panda behavior, and learning how staff care for aging pandas. Hotel pickup and lunch in the staff canteen are included. The activity runs from early morning through mid-afternoon, with a volunteer certificate and souvenirs at the end.

Step-by-step itinerary

Dujiangyan Panda Volunteer Experience

• Hotel pick-up in Chengdu
• Transfer to Dujiangyan Panda Base
• Check in and put on working outfit
• Sign volunteer paper
• Clean panda enclosure
• Smash bamboo for pandas
• Shovel panda pupu
• Observe and record panda behaviors
• Watch keepers feed and train pandas
• Buffet lunch at staff canteen
• Watch panda documentary
• Prepare special food for old pandas
• Make panda cake
• Receive volunteer certificate and souvenirs
• Say goodbye to pandas
• Return to Chengdu and drop off

The Experience

The day starts with hotel pickup around 7:10 and a transfer to Dujiangyan Panda Base outside Chengdu. After checking in and putting on a working outfit, you move straight into the tasks keepers do every day: cleaning the enclosure, smashing bamboo for food, and shoveling panda waste. This is not observation—you are doing the work. An hour of that is followed by time spent watching and recording panda behavior, then standing with the keepers as they feed the pandas and run behavior training sessions.

Lunch happens at 11:30 in the staff canteen, where you eat what the keepers eat. Afterward, you watch a panda documentary before moving into the afternoon segment: preparing specialized food for older pandas while a keeper explains the medical and nutritional side of aging panda care. The day closes with making panda cakes by hand, receiving your volunteer certificate and souvenirs, and saying goodbye to the pandas before the drive back to Chengdu by 5 p.m. Drop-off can be arranged at your hotel or at a downtown location.

Note that direct feeding of pandas is no longer permitted after COVID, but all the behind-the-scenes work—the physical tasks, the observation, the food prep, the learning—remains intact. The experience is built around what conservation actually requires, not a photo moment.

What’s included

• Roundtrip private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off in Chengdu.
• lunch in the panda base staff canteen.
• panda volunteer reservation service.
• a private guide throughout the day.
• a volunteer certificate and souvenirs at the end.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availableNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by ChengDu WestChinaGo Travel Service

Is this one for you?This works best for travelers who want hands-on work over passive sightseeing—you are cleaning, preparing food, and learning conservation tasks directly from keepers, not watching from a distance. Book it if you are comfortable with physical labor and want to understand what panda care actually involves.

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Top questions

What exactly do I do during the panda volunteering experience?

You clean panda enclosures, smash and prepare bamboo, remove waste, observe and record panda behavior, watch keepers conduct feeding and training, prepare specialized food for older pandas, and make panda cakes by hand. You work alongside the keepers for most of the morning and early afternoon.

Can I feed the pandas myself?

Direct feeding is not permitted. You watch the keepers feed the pandas and conduct behavior training, and you participate in preparing food and caring for the enclosures, but you do not hand-feed them.

What time does the experience start and end?

Hotel pickup begins around 7:10 a.m., and you return to Chengdu by approximately 5 p.m. The full day at the base runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lunch included at 11:30.

Is lunch included, and where do I eat?

Yes, lunch is included in the staff canteen at the panda base. You eat the same buffet meal the keepers have.

What is included in the price?

Roundtrip private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off, lunch at the staff canteen, panda volunteer reservation service, a private guide, a volunteer certificate, and souvenirs are all included.

What should I know about age and fitness requirements?

The experience is for ages 10 to 70, with children requiring an adult companion. It is suitable for all fitness levels, though it is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health, or pregnancy.