There are two panda centers: The Wolong Center that's outside of Chengdu and the Panda Breeding and Research Center on the outskirts of Chengdu. Leslie's Tibet group had a fellow traveler make the side trip to the Wolong Center. I hope she can chime in here with that information.
Betty - you go, girl! Here are a few more links to groups offering Wolong volunteer programs. Like many things in China, it's difficult to get a crisp understanding as to what the volunteer experience will be like. The trip advisor reviews on the hotel stress the reason to go is the pandas - accommodations and food are basic or worse.
http://www.worldendeavors.com/China/panda-conservation-in-china.html http://www.wildspotsfoundation.org/wolong.html It's hard to find actual reviews of the Wolong volunteer experience. Here's one:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/early-mornings-in-wolong/ Here are four video clips. I'm a bit surprised at the enclosure in the first one
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/china-giant-pandas/2648668641?icid=acvsv4 Go to June 1 2007 entry on this blog:
http://www.becci.com/Journal.htm At the time we went, we were told the road to Wolong was either out of service or under repairs. Various posts say it is between 3 and 5 hours each way from Chengdu on bad roads. If you take a bus, you need to stay overnight. It would have made travel difficult. Therefore, we chose to go to the Panda Breeding and Research Center.
We were told by our guide there were two price levels for pictures with pandas: 400 yuan or 1000 yuan. The day we were there only the 1000 yuan picture was on offer. As described, you were seated on a bench with the panda behind you. We all opted out of that photo opportunity.
The pandas were pretty active when we visited (late afternoon). We got some lovely photos of the pandas. A very pleasant surprise was how interesting the lesser pandas were during our visit. Supposedly the pandas eat or sleep all day. Maybe it's true with the adults, but the 8 to 18 month old pandas were like all toddlers - nonstop action until they collapsed in a heap to nap. We visited in October; at the time, they had 9 baby pandas born that year. I also think it was 60 pandas at the center. We were told poaching the biggest issue with panda population declines, not habitat destruction. The population estimate was 1,600 pandas, up from 1,000 about a decade ago. I wasn't sure how much of the information is accurate and how much is an easier way to explain things for the guides.
Here's a one page description of the place we visited:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/chengdu/panda-breeding-and-research-center.htm Cheers, Anne
