Published on Feb, 2025

Lois took us to the Chengdu panda base and we loved it. We went on a cool day in the morning so the pandas were very active! Lois knows a lot about pandas! After a great morning we took a 90 minute ride to the giant budha. A perfect restaurant for a tasty lunch, then a short boat ride to see the carved monument up close. A 90 minute drive home completed a full day. Thanks Lois!

Published on Feb, 2025

One of my favourite days in China - I have lived here for 2 years. The panda sanctuary was great and to see them being looked after was amazing. We went in the morning and beat the huge crowds. Seeing the Leshan Giant Buddha was also magnificent- it truly is one of the seven wonders of China. Our tour guide Abby spoke better English than us and was incredibly helpful answering all our questions and giving us the facts about the two sites. I would recommend to everyone but go in the winter and in the morning!!!

Published on Oct, 2024

We had a full day excursion to see the Panda base reserve and the Giant Buddha. Our guide, Abby, was punctual, kind, and provided us with all the information we needed covering both activities and general information about Chengdu and China. We also had a personal driver, who drove safely and was very nice. We highly recommend this excursion!

Published on Oct, 2024

Our guide Wency was fantastic. We were the only 2 people on the trip so a car picked us us promptly at 730am and we headed out to see the pandas. Our driver had supplied us with bottled water and iced coffee which was a nice touch. It can get pretty crowded near the pandas even on a quiet day so be prepared to jostle for position when trying to take photos. Wency was very knowledgeable throughout and at the Panda centre we saw many pandas climbing trees, playing and eating. You need to go early as once they have eaten they just sleep. It’s is a beautiful area and very picturesque, be prepared for a good walk! From there we drove 2.5 hours to Leshan where we stopped for a dumpling lunch in the town before heading to the boat. It was a Monday and fairly quiet so there were no queues and we boarded quickly. We paid an extra 30 yen for a seat inside once on the boat, this is optional and they serve you tea or coffee in this price. We headed down the river to the Buddha which is spectacular, the biggest stone Buddha in the world. The boat stops for photos before returning back up the river the journey takes approximately 40 minutes. Our journey was by car so much quicker than if you were on a bus and waiting for others so we were very lucky. Wonderful day for us would highly recommend especially lovely Wency!

Published on Apr, 2024

Abby was a great tour guide and went above and beyond to ensure the trip was as much as possible customised to our needs. The was engaging and spoke English very well so we could ask here a lot of questions not only about the sights of the day but also about China and traveling the country in general. We not only had her but also a separate driver just for ourselves which we hadn't even realised when booking so definitely worth the money! We did the panda park first which essentially is a large zoo with only pandas rather than a range of animals. It's quite large and would be confusing by oneself so following Abby who knows the place in and out was definitely a bonus. It filled up with people very quickly so keep that in mind when deciding what time to leave in the morning if you want to get the chance to take some (many?) cute panda pics. We then went on to the Giant Buddha which was about 90 minutes drive away. This meant we saw a bit of more rural China on the way but also got quite tiring on the way back. While the pandas were definitely cute and are obviously a must see when in Chengdu, we liked the Buddha almost more. Just amazing how they built this into the mountain so many years ago and it felt like a bit off the beaten track, especially as a Western tourist. All in all, an amazing day trip and if you can afford it, we'd definitely recommend this private tour!