Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Hello, we are the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Our story begins in the city of Chengdu, China, in the year 1987. We were created for a very special and urgent reason: to help save giant pandas, an animal that was in danger of disappearing forever. Our work didn’t start in a big, modern facility with hundreds of animals. Instead, our entire panda family began with just six giant pandas. These first pandas were not born here; they were rescued from the wild. They had been found sick or starving, and they needed a safe place where they could get healthy and strong again. From this small and humble beginning, our important mission grew.

Our most important job has always been to help giant pandas have healthy babies. This was a huge challenge because, in nature and in human care, pandas rarely have cubs. It was a puzzle that our scientists and veterinarians were determined to solve. They spent years carefully and patiently studying the pandas. They watched how they lived, what they ate, and how they behaved. Through this dedicated research, our team learned exactly what pandas needed to thrive and how to help them start families. We became world experts in panda breeding. We also learned how to provide the best cub care, especially for panda twins, which often happens. In the wild, a mother panda can usually only care for one cub, but here, we could help make sure both twins survived.

Because of all this hard work and learning, our panda population began to grow. From those first six rescued pandas, our family expanded over the years until we were caring for more than 200. This success helped make us a world leader in panda conservation, which is the work of protecting animal species and their habitats. We knew our pandas needed a home that felt like the forests they came from. So, we built large, natural living spaces for them. These enclosures give the pandas plenty of room to explore, climb, and play. Most importantly, we filled these spaces with lots of bamboo, which is the main food pandas eat. While we are most famous for giant pandas, they are not the only animals who live here. We also care for other rare animals that need protection, like the beautiful red panda.

Our mission to save the giant panda goes far beyond the walls of our base in Chengdu. We believe that helping these animals requires teamwork, so we have formed global partnerships with other zoos, research centers, and scientists around the world. We share what we have learned about panda care and breeding so that others can help protect them, too. As part of these partnerships, we sometimes send our pandas to live in other countries for a while. This allows people everywhere to see these amazing animals up close and learn why it is so important to protect them. But our most important goal is not to keep pandas in zoos. Our biggest dream is to help pandas return to where they belong. We work on training pandas so they can learn to live on their own in the wild, in protected forests where they will be safe.

Today, we continue our important work. We are known around the world as a famous research center dedicated to animal protection, and we are also a popular destination for visitors who want to learn about our mission. Every day, we carry on with our three main goals: conducting scientific research to better understand pandas, running our successful breeding program to increase their numbers, and educating the public about the importance of conservation. Our journey started with just six sick pandas, but it has grown into a worldwide effort to ensure that giant pandas will always have a future.