Panda Keeper Volunteer Program at Dujiangyan Panda Base

The panda keeper volunteer program at Dujiangyan Panda Base, part of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Dujiangyan about 65 km northwest of central Chengdu, gives participants a full day working alongside base staff on enclosure cleaning, food preparation and feeding tasks for giant pandas and red pandas. The program runs typically from 08:00 to 16:00 with a lunch break and requires reasonable physical fitness, since cleaning enclosures involves manual labor such as sweeping and carrying bamboo; there is no strict age limit, but children usually need to be accompanied and meet a minimum age set by the base office at booking. The compulsory conservation donation covers base entry, the volunteer session and protective coveralls, but participants should bring their own closed shoes and clothes that can get dirty, along with a passport for the required volunteer registration. The program is run directly by the Dujiangyan Panda Base volunteer office, which reports to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda, one of the two main panda breeding and research institutions in the Chengdu area alongside the larger Chengdu Research Base. On arrival, staff give a safety briefing covering hygiene protocols for working near the animals, boundaries around enclosures, and the location of first aid on site; because the work is close to large animals, participants follow staff instructions closely throughout the day rather than approaching pandas independently. The program runs year-round since outdoor cleaning and feeding tasks continue in all seasons, though visitors should expect cold conditions and possible frost in winter and hot, humid conditions in summer, and should dress accordingly rather than avoiding any particular season.