Wolong Shenshuping Giant Panda Base 卧龙中华大熊猫苑神树坪基地

About Wolong Shenshuping Giant Panda Base

The base covers 150 hectares at an average elevation of about 1,700 metres, in mountainous terrain within the Wolong section of Giant Panda National Park. A 2013 Hong Kong government press release records that the Wenchuan earthquake did severe damage inside the Wolong reserve and that the Special Administrative Region's aid programme for facilities there came to 23 projects, covering livelihood infrastructure as well as conservation and research facilities, with a total commitment of HK$1.58 billion; Wenchuan County's own media centre dates that earthquake to 2008. The Hong Kong government's own press release, dated 11 May 2016, records that Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration, Carrie Lam, led a delegation to Sichuan that day to preside over the opening ceremony of the 'Chinese Giant Panda Garden' built there. The press release named the garden the most iconic of those 23 funded reconstruction projects in Wolong and, in the government's own description at the time, the world's largest giant panda breeding and research base and the world's first giant panda wilderness-training base, funded with HK$258.59 million. Facilities listed in the 2016 press release include 30 panda enclosures, a panda nursery, a breeding centre, a panda hospital, a wilderness-training area, a combined research and administration building, a science-education centre and a visitor reception centre. As of a Xinhua dispatch dated 29 May 2024 (filed from Chengdu on 28 May), the base held more than 70 pandas of various ages, including 'Xiao Qiji', a panda returned from the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

The base has kept a complete pedigree archive of its pandas since its founding, recording each individual's lineage and genetic information, and staff use that data to plan breeding pairings and avoid inbreeding. Sichuan Daily describes the base as the largest captive giant panda population base in China and abroad and reports that it had bred a cumulative 143 litters totalling 199 cubs by the end of 2025. The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda's five bases, of which Shenshuping is one, are all equipped with matching professional veterinary equipment and dedicated veterinary teams, giving on-site diagnosis and treatment for common panda illnesses.

What to look for

• The panda enclosures and breeding centre built as part of the 2016 Hong Kong-funded 'Chinese Giant Panda Garden' project.
• The panda nursery and panda hospital, both named among the base's original facilities.
• The wilderness-training area, described by the Hong Kong government's 2016 press release as the world's first such facility for giant pandas.
• The science-education centre, listed among the base's original facilities in the Hong Kong government's 2016 press release.

Location & getting there

Getting to Wolong Shenshuping Giant Panda Base

Check the open visitor route and follow the site’s rules on distance, food and photography. Conservation areas may limit access beyond designated paths.

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