Giant Panda
Name in Chinese: 碧峰峡 Bì Fēng Xiá [bi fen ʃa:]
Duration of Tour: Half a Day
Location: Yucheng District, Ya’an Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Highlights: Giant Pandas, Virgin Forest, Rushing Waterfalls, Murmuring Streams and Wondrous Landscape
Must-see Sightseeing Spots: Ya’an Panda Base, Qiancengyan Waterfall, Yuanyang Waterfall and Qinglongtan Waterfall
Reputations: A National Four-star Scenic Area, A National Key Tourist Resort
Bifeng Valley is well-known in the world for its attractive landscape and the lovely giant pandas. It is a wonderful place for people to avoid the summer heat. The valley consists of three parts, namely the gorge, the panda base, and the ecological zoo. Both the gorge and the panda base are highly recommended.
Ya’an Panda Base
There are about 2,400 giant pandas in the world. Three fourth of the pandas live in the wild. More than half of the wild pandas inhabit in Ya’an area. In 1869, a French missionary, Armand David discovered a panda in Baoxing County, Ya’an Prefecture.
The full name of the base is Ya’an Base of China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Centre. The base was founded in 2003, covering an area of 4 square kilometers(1,000 acres). It the home for 80 giant pandas.
The base staffs focus on both breeding and training pandas. In order to avoid inbreeding, the scientists and staffs have tried to return some zoo pandas to the wild. In 2012, the staffs released a male panda into Liziping Nature Reserve. It was the first successful case in the world. The panda’s name is Taotao. He was born in 2010. the latest report says that Taotao was captured and weighed in at 135 kg(298 lb) in December 2017. In 2013, a female panda, Zhang Xiang was returned to the same nature reserve. Both Taotao and Zhang Xiang have survived in the nature. The scientists and staffs are working hard to make sure that more zoo pandas are ready to return to the wild.
Ya’an Panda Base is accessible for foreigners to take part in the panda volunteer program, but the daily quota of volunteers is limited. The base only accepts 60 applications for the volunteer program per day.
The gorge is in the shape of the letter V. It stretches 7 kilometers(4.3 miles) to the left and 6 kilometers(3.7 miles) to the right. The gorge ranges from 30 meters(98 feet) to 70 meters(230 feet) in width, and there is a sheer drop of 100 meters(328 feet) to 200 meters(656 feet) from to the cliffs to the bottom. Visitor are usually enchanted by the beauty of the verdant forest and the rushing waterfalls in the gorge. It is quite delightful to feel the cool and gentle breeze, to hear birds singing and streams murmuring. The major sightseeing spots in the gorge are Qiancengyan Waterfall, Yuanyang Waterfall and Qinglongtan Waterfall.
Qingyun Elevator
It is the tallest sightseeing elevator in the world. The elevator is a 91.8-meter(301-foot) drop. Qingyun means the bluish green cloud in English. It is also used to metaphorically refer to high official rank. Visitors can take the elevator to the bottom of the gorge.
Qinglongtan Waterfall
Qinglongtan means green dragon pool in English. Rushing through the dense forest and jagged rocks, the water drops into a pool. The waterfall is a 40-meters(131-foot) drop and 6 meters(20 feet) in width.
Yuanyang Waterfall
Yuanyang means mandarin duck. The word is also used in Chinese to refer to faithful lovers in couples and things in pairs. The waterfall is a 30-meter(98-foot) drop. The rushing torrent is split into two unequal streams by a projecting rock. The two streams look like two lovers snuggling with each other.
Travel Tips
How to Get to Bifeng Valley
Bifeng Valley is located in Yucheng District, Ya’an Prefecture. It is about 150 km(93 miles) away from Chengdu, taking around two hours to get to from Chengdu by a car.
How to Visit Bifeng Valley
Sightseeing buses shuttle between the Visitor’s Service Center and the panda base. After visiting the panda base, visitors can ride the sightseeing shuttles back to the Visitor’s Service Centre, and take the elevator to visit the gorge.
Weather
The temperature in Ya’an Prefecture ranges from 7℃(44.6°F) to 13℃(55.4°F) in spring, 18℃(64.4°F) to 26℃(78.8°F) in summer, 22℃(71.6°F) to 29℃(84.2°F) in autumn and 10℃(50°F) to 16℃(60.8°F) in winter. The rainy season in Sichuan lasts from July to August. Visitors should try to avoid going to Western Sichuan in the rainy season.
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Author: Tina Luo
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