14-day Panda Volunteer & Travel

This morning, you’ll meet your Adventure Leader and group bright and early in the hostel, ready to transfer to Dujiangyan City for a guided day trip. It’s a beautifully historic area about 50km from Chengdu, and you’ll see both of the area’s two World Heritage Sites over the course of the day.  

In the morning, you’ll hike Qingchengshan, a stunning mountain that’s considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism. In the afternoon, you’ll head back into the city to visit Dujiangyan’s ancient irrigation system – built over 2000 years ago, it’s the oldest existing large-scale water project in the world. It plays an important part in flood prevention and agriculture, and is the reason that Chengdu earned the name ‘the Land of Abundance’.

After breakfast, we’ll make our way to the Wolong Panda Reserve, where your volunteering adventure begins! You’ll spend the day assisting rangers in caring for the pandas and maintaining their enclosures. Your tasks will include cleaning enclosures, preparing fresh bamboo, and observing the pandas as they engage in enrichment activities and training.

Since pandas love their midday naps, you’ll have a break during late morning to early afternoon to enjoy lunch and explore the surrounding area. In the afternoon, you’ll complete your volunteering duties before heading to the Wolong Grand Panda Museum, where you’ll dive deeper into the world of these incredible creatures.

That evening, you’ll have free time to return to Dujiangyan, where you can explore more of the vibrant Sichuan province at your own pace.

After breakfast, we’ll set off for the Dujiangyan Panda Base, offering a change of scenery while maintaining a similar rewarding experience to the previous day. You’ll continue assisting with panda care, helping to clean enclosures, prepare bamboo and observe these fascinating animals in their rehabilitation environment.

Later in the afternoon, you’ll receive a well-earned certificate recognising your efforts in supporting panda conservation. With your volunteer experience complete, we’ll head back to Chengdu, where you’ll meet your new Adventure Leader and the rest of your group.

In the evening, if you’d like you can enjoy a traditional Sichuan Opera & Culture Show! 

After a busy couple of days, today you’ve got some choices of how to spend your day.  

If you’d like, you can leave for Leshan, where you’ll see the world’s largest stone Buddha. Carved out of the hillside in the 8th century, it stands at 71m high and looks down on the confluence of three rivers.  

Alternatively, you can spend a free day exploring Chengdu at your leisure. Chengdu prides itself on a relaxed way of life, so you can spend time wandering between cafés, parks and forests.  

In the evening, we dare you to sample Sichuan hot pot! It’s the region’s most famous staple, known for its healthy doses of spice and deliciousness in equal measure. Afterwards, if you’d like you can spend your evening out and about, exploring what Chengdu has to offer of a night time.  

In the morning, you can either get a well-deserved lie-in, or opt to join us on a visit to the Autism Children’s Rehabilitation Center. Then, just after lunch, if you’d like you can head about to explore Jinli & the People’s Park by public transportation. Built as the city’s first public park in the early twentieth century, it’s renowned for the beautiful landscaping, bonsai garden, winding streams and small tea houses.  

This afternoon, it’s time to bid farewell to Chengdu as you head off to your next destination – Xi’An! You’ll grab a train, arriving into the city in the late evening – just in time to check in and grab a good night’s sleep at your new accommodation.  

You’ve got a free morning today, where you can either take it slow or opt to get out and explore the city’s many shops, museums or temples.  

In the mid-afternoon, you’re invited to join us on a spectacular bike ride across Xi’An’s gorgeous Ming Dynasty city walls! [Note: in the hot summer, we may opt to take the bike ride earlier in the day to avoid the heat.] 

Then, in the early evening, you can opt to join us for a tour around the Muslim Quarter and the Bell Drum Towers. Xi’An is renowned for its amazing architecture, and here you’ll be able to admire some beautiful examples as you learn about the city’s Silk Road History. While you’re in the Muslim Quarter, be sure to grab some delicious local food from the many street food vendors, before relaxing at the nearby Silk Road market into the evening.  

You’ve got a full day out today, with one of the China group tour’s most unmissable activities – the Terracotta Warriors! Discovered in the 1970s close to the mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang, the warriors were designed to guard the Emperor in the afterlife. Here, you’ll find thousands of intricately carved stone warriors that are over 2000 years old.  

You’ll return into town in the evening – you can either choose to relax or head to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Here, you’ll find an amazing music and lights show that illuminates the whole area!  

This morning, you’re transferring to the next destination on your panda volunteer group tour – Shaolin! You’ll spend the morning grabbing a couple of buses, arriving in Dengfeng in the early afternoon.  

In the afternoon, you can head to a local kungfu school – here, you’ll get a lesson and a demonstration, run by a master from the Shaolin Temple!  

You’ll have time to break for dinner in the evening, before joining your Adventure Leader for a Mandarin lesson.  

Today, you’ve got two options for how to spend your day.  

You can visit the home of kungu, the Shaolin Temple! While here, you’ll be able to hike to Dharma Cave, a spiritual spot for Buddhist pilgrims, where you’ll be rewarded with stunning views of the shrines and temples, and across the whole area.  

Had your fill of temples for one day? Alternatively, you might want to visit the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with thousands of carved Buddhas. They’re some of the finest examples of Chinese art, and stretch through caves that span over a 1km. [Note: if you’re very keen, you can squeeze both options into your day – please tell us about this before your trip starts if you intend to!] 

Back at the guesthouse, you’ll have a late lunch in the mid-afternoon, before you’ve got a free afternoon and evening to explore Dengfeng. Be warned – you’ve got an early start tomorrow!  

It’s a pre-dawn rise today, as we’re up to transfer to our next destination – Beijing, the country’s capital! We’ll grab a bullet train this morning, arriving in the early afternoon where we’ll head straight to a local farm for a delicious meal.  

We’ll then prepare ourselves to embark on the showstopper of any China Dragon Trip – camping on the Great Wall of China! In the afternoon, we’ll transfer to the Wall, where we’ll hike off by hiking along some unrestored sections. We’ll walk until we find a nice secluded spot, where we’ll set up camp to watch the sun set over one of the world’s seven wonders. While you’re there, you’ll also get another helpful Mandarin lesson from your Adventure Leader. 

[Note: Due to cold weather, before the end of April and after the end of September, we’ll return to a local guesthouse instead of camping outside.] 

You’ll get the wake up of your life this morning, with a stunning sunrise across the Great Wall of China. After packing up, you’ll head back to Beijing to carry on exploring the capital. 

Once back, you’ve got some time to explore under your own duress. You can opt to explore Tiananmen Square and visit the Forbidden City, the largest palatial complex in the world. The grounds boast almost 1000 buildings, and has hosted 24 different Chinese Emperors over the course of the nation’s history.  

You can also visit Jingshan Park, where you’ll be able to get incredible views of the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and Tiananmen Square.  

In the afternoon, if you’d like to, you can enjoy an amazing acrobatics and circus show. Performed by young talents recruited from all over China, the shows are a guaranteed great night out.  

It’s dinner time! Enjoyed exclusively by royalty in ancient times, why not try Beijing’s signature dish – Peking roast duck!  

Today is a free day! You’ll have the option to visit the fake good markets for a spot of shopping, as well as the nearby Temple of Heaven.  

In the afternoon, you can visit the Nanluo district. Nanluo is one of the best-preserved historical areas in Beijing, that’s famous for its hutongs and siheyuan courtyards, as well as the bars, cafes and handicraft shops.