Chengdu Panda House

The last big tourist site that we went to on our China trip was the Chengdu Panda habitat. We saved it for the last day of our trip, and it rained the entire time we were there. It felt like we were in some misty jungle with paved sidewalks. 

Mistake 1: I didn't bring a rain jacket at all to China. What?! 

Mistake 2: I wore shorts. It was cold and wet, and I wore shorts. 

Mistake 3: We brought the stroller. Daisy didn't want to be in the stroller at all, so we basically pushed around a soaking wet, vacant stroller the entire time.

Mistake 4: I dressed Daisy in a onesie. It was cold and rainy! The entire time I felt so guilty for being "that mom" that dressed my child improperly, especially in China, where they dress their babies in parkas in the summer. 

But, we made the most of it. We squishedly walked around the park seeing things like crazy koi. 

And baby pandas! This was definitely the best part of the day. Most of the the grown pandas were hidden away taking shelter from the rain, so it was nice that we got to see some little baby cuties. 

We went into the red panda part where on a nice day, you might encounter the pandas close up, but on a rainy day, you get to see them in the trees. 

The panda house ended up being kind of disappointing, but all due to the weather. It's okay, because the main point of going was to hang out with our friends who live there. 

Yay for friends!

Plus, I didn't feel too bad leaving early to go to Peter's for lunch. 

Travel Tips and Take Aways

1. Go on a nice day. The park might be more crowded, but at least you won't be soaking wet. Also, the pandas are more likely to be active and interesting. 

2. Go to early. We got there later in the morning, and the pandas weren't really active (again, maybe because of the rain). My sister has gone first thing in the morning when the pandas were being fed, and she said they were really active. 

3. Only bring a stroller if your kid likes the stroller. Daisy doesn't like strollers, so it was just a nuisance to carry it around. There were a few times we had to carry the stroller up stairs, but most of the park has ramps. 

4. Wear good shoes. Like every other thing we did in China, the panda house requires a lot of walking.


Bonus Video - our almost-encounter with a red panda.