1-Day Dujiangyan Panda Volunteer Program Tour

China is the homeland of pandas and currently the only place where you can experience being a volunteer. Through firsthand experience of caring for pandas, you can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges pandas face and enhance your awareness of panda conservation and global endangered animals. Also, you will gain a deeper respect and understanding for the hard work that goes into animal protection.

Dujiangyan Panda Base is the closest base to Chengdu. The unforgettable opportunity will give you the chance to personally prepare food for these fluffy giant pandas and observe them eating up close. Additionally, you will get more interesting information from your guide who is even familiar with every panda of the base.

Tour Highlights

Watch the keeper feeding a panda at a very close distance.

Learn and experience preparing bamboo for pandas.

Discover real reviews of Highlights Travel Family’s best-rated service across trusted platforms.

Tom was a Perfect Guide and made my Trip a Great expérience! Driver is also great.I visite d q lot of good places.I enjoyed BBeijing a lot

May 2025, Sybil

“Una experiencia inolvidable. La organización del tour fue excelente, y lo que realmente marcó la diferencia fue NUESTRA GUIA LIDIA. Siempre atenta, clara en sus explicaciones, simpática, y con una actitud cálida y muy profesional en todo momento, lo que hizo que cada lugar cobrara vida. Gracias por una experiencia tan bien gestionada y humana.”

May 2025, natalia c

We do had three days in Beijing with Jiang. The organisation, driver and guiding was really great. We have been a group of 2 (couple). I think we would have needed nearly +30 percent more time to find the right queueing line at all the places. For us it was a hassel free and seamless enjoyment – to visit all the places and having a long hiking track at the great wall of china. thank you very much Jiang & china highlights & team. ps: we also tasted a lot of vegetarian food which was really great.

May 2025, Matthias

Suggested Itinerary
  • DAY 10
    Shanghai Highlights with Bund Discovery

    Breakfast & Lunch

    Do you just want to take one or two selfies in the Bund as most tourists do? Let’s travel back in time to the golden age of the Bund in the 1920s during our In-depth Bund Culture Discovery Tour.

    Enjoy lunch and ascend to the highest building in China, Shanghai Tower, where you will not only enjoy a panoramic view of Shanghai but will also see the future of China.

    Half-Day Customized Icing-on-the-Cake Experience

    After traveling in China for around 10 days, you might want to do something different at the end. Do you want to have some relaxation time? Do you have any unfulfilled trip wishes? In Shanghai, your private guide will make your wishes come true!

    Whether you want to relax, experience fashion, appreciate art, explore folk customs, or shop; from having fun in fancy bar to exploring an art center, trying nail beauty, testing your popularity in the marriage market, or just buying some lovely gifts, we will make it happen. Just tell us what you’re interested in.

    If you don’t know what you want, just let your guide make the arrangements. You will not be disappointed!

  • DAY 8
    Li River Cruise

    Breakfast & Lunch

    Drive toward the south of Yangshuo to explore the peaceful villages. You might meet someone on his way to the fields with a water buffalo or someone working in the paddy.

    Visit an old couple who still live in a traditional house. Learn about their lifestyle and philosophy of living.

    Continue to drive pass an old ferry along the Li River. The old buildings in the ancient style are the memory of the busy water transportation on the Li River in the past. Then you will take a ferry and a local farmer’s taxi (a kind of motorbike with three wheels) to the local market.

    Your guide will show you around to explain the different types of food and show you the local people’s daily necessities.

    Fly to the modern city of Shanghai in the afternoon.

    Hotel options:
    Sunrise On The Bund
    Wanda Reign Hotel

    Experience of countryside Lifestyle
    Experience of countryside Lifestyle
  • DAY 7
    Longji Terraced Rice Fields and Ethnic Minority Culture

    Breakfast & Lunch

    Begin your day by exploring the Longji Terraced Rice Fields.

    Built into the hillsides, the terraces are beautiful when the sun reflects on the water of the paddy fields, and the fields glow when the harvest is ripe.

    The Zhuang minority have lived there for generations in wooden houses, and the people eat their own unique food, such as bamboo rice and oil tea.

    Sit around a bonfire in a traditional kitchen, make bamboo rice with the host.

    Tips to Tailor-Make Your Tour

    Are you very active and love hiking? Then you’ll love the 5-hour hiking trip between the villages of Ping’an and Dazhai through the Longji Terraced Rice Fields.

More Tour

Trip Notes

Every element of the tour above can be tailored. Feel free to tell us your ideas and we will be happy to make adjustments for you.

Extend the tour:

  • Suzhou and/or Hangzhou: add 1–4 days — water towns, gardens, the Grand Canal, and West Lake
  • Chengdu: add 2–3 days — a panda keeper program, have your photo taken next to a panda, and the Leshan Giant Buddha
  • Hong Kong: add 2–3 days — Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Disneyland, and a day-tour of Macau
  • Free days: Yangshuo and Shanghai are popular destinations to add one or more free days to explore on one’s own.
  • More destinations: Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, and Tibet… Inform us of your interests and we will offer you some recommendations.

2. Accommodation

Various types of accommodation are available, including famous 5-star hotel chains, 4-star hotels in the best locations, good value 3-star hotels, or boutique hotels that reflect the style of the region. Whatever your accommodation preferences are, our travel experts will seek out and find the perfect one for you.

Most hotels in China allow at most three people in one room. If there are more than three people in your group, we will check if there is a family room available or do our best to arrange interconnecting rooms or adjoin rooms.

3. Transportation

China is a huge country, so to make your travel experience more efficient, we usually arrange flights to connect to your destinations.

China’s high-speed rail network is a fast-paced way to travel. We recommend taking high-speed trains for journeys of less than 6 hours to interested customers — please tell us if you are one of them.

4. Meals

Lunches at popular local restaurants are included for you so you can taste authentic Chinese food. Your guide will assist you with ordering the dishes.

Vegetarian, halal, kosher, Indian, or gluten-free — all your dietary requirements can be taken care of by our experienced private guides. Let us know if you have any of these dietary requirements during your booking.

Hotel Selection

—the Icing on the Cake

Boutique hotels are recommended to enrich your travel experience.

Hotel room in Beijing
5-star option: Hotel Eclat Beijing
the balcony of the hotel
4-star option: Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
MaxX By Steigenberger Shanghai on the Bund
5-star option: MaxX By Steigenberger Shanghai on the Bund

Tour Price

From US$3,059 p/p
Based on a private tour including 4-star hotels for 2 people. Price varies depending on program, travel date, number of people and chosen hotel

Price includes:

  • Private air-conditioned business car with big windows and ample space
  • English speaking local guide
  • Activities, hotels, and meals listed in the itinerary
  • Flights/trains between itinerary cities
  • 24/7 helpline for while you are traveling
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