HK Media’s Sichuan-Chongqing Tour: “Panda Fever” Sweeps Globally! Chengdu Base Sees Over 50% Surge in Overseas Visitors, Praised as “Incredibly Exciting”

On the second day of the “Hong Kong Media Sichuan-Chongqing Tour: Tale of Two Thriving Cities,” a group of about 30 Hong Kong journalists visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. As China promotes cultural and tourism development nationwide, this renowned attraction is innovating in exhibitions, activities, and outreach to sustain its appeal. This year, the base welcomed 6.23 million visitors, with overseas tourists surging over 50% compared to last year, signaling that “panda fever” is heating up both domestically and internationally.

As a renowned tourist attraction, the Chengdu Panda Base innovates in exhibitions, activities, and outreach to maintain its appeal. Photo by Bastille Post.

The Chengdu Panda Base has drawn 6.23 million visitors in 2025 so far, with foreign tourists making up 4%, including over 1,300 from Hong Kong. Since visa-free policies for foreign visitors began, the base saw a 183.81% increase in overseas visitors in 2024 compared to 2023, and a 57.21% rise in 2025 over 2024. The base frequently hosts international tourists, including Southeast Asian tour groups.

This year, the base has welcomed 6.23 million visitors so far. Photo by Bastille Post.

Photo by Bastille Post.

A first-time Romanian visitor to China described the base tour as an exciting experience. Photo by Bastille Post.

A first-time visitor from Romania described the experience as “incredibly exciting,” praising the adorable pandas and pleasant local weather. As a blogger, he plans to share videos and images showcasing Chengdu’s wonders with his followers. Having seen pandas in zoos in London and Berlin, where only a few were confined in enclosures, he found it thrilling to see so many pandas in a large, dedicated base. He also hopes to spot a particularly popular panda during further exploration.

An Australian visitor recalled owning a panda plush toy as a child, fostering a special connection and lasting fascination with pandas. Photo by Bastille Post.

An Australian tourist called it a rare chance to observe pandas up close in a natural setting. Recalling a childhood panda plush toy, he feels a special connection and lifelong fascination with pandas. He noted China’s loan of two pandas to Adelaide Zoo in Australia turned it into a tourism hotspot, drawing countless visitors, and hopes such exchanges strengthen bilateral friendship. He plans to invite friends to Chengdu to see pandas and enjoy a drink together.

Photo by Bastille Post.

With the National Day Golden Week approaching, the base expects visitor numbers similar to last year’s 400,000, averaging 57,000 daily. To manage crowds, the base caps daily visitors at 80,000, with separate morning and afternoon tickets, and enhances signage, guidance, and crowd control for quick entry and orderly visits.

Overseas visitors have surged by over 50% compared to last year. Photo by Bastille Post.

Photo by Bastille Post.

Photo by Bastille Post.

To enrich visitor experiences, the base uses immersive exhibits, interactive experiences, and recreated habitats to build a science education system, creating the world’s first panda-themed interactive museum. Along visitor routes, it has developed educational scenes covering pandas, golden monkeys, birds, bamboo, and insects.

The base enhances exhibitions with immersive tours, interactive experiences, and recreated habitats to build a science education system. Photo by Bastille Post.

The base offers diverse, engaging science education activities, including nine themed research courses and nine branded science programs, promoting biodiversity conservation knowledge centered on pandas. These activities remain free, encouraging broad participation.

Gift shops at the base offer panda-themed souvenirs for visitors. Photo by Bastille Post.

Visitors can enjoy cute panda-shaped latte art drinks. Photo by Bastille Post.

Additionally, themed around biodiversity, the base produces science books and films, blending online and offline outreach to vividly spread conservation messages, extending educational impact.

The base provides gift shops for purchasing panda souvenirs. Photo by Bastille Post.

For convenient ticketing, the base uses a real-name system; Hong Kong visitors can buy tickets online with documents like the Mainland Travel Permit, Hong Kong ID, Re-entry Permit, residence permit, or passport. Photo by Bastille Post.

CISARUA, Indonesia (AP) — The first giant panda born in Indonesia squirmed as veterinarians checked his hearing and eyesight and confirmed the furry cub was growing and healthy Friday before his public debut later this month.

Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed “Rio,” can walk on his own, climbs on his mother and has started eating bamboo shoots. He has grown to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) at 169 days old.

Veterinarians are monitoring his development to determine how well he might adapt to the crowds when he debuts at Indonesian Safari Park outside the capital, Jakarta.

“What’s important to note is that all of Rio’s senses are active; he has the ability to understand the environment, assess the situation, adapt to more people, and hear sounds, even in certain levels of noise. We will train him gradually,” said Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian who monitors Rio’s progress.

His growth in some ways is faster than average, especially his teeth, according to Mulia.

Rio was born Nov. 27 to his mother, Hu Chun, and a male panda, Cai Tao, who are both 15 years old. The pair arrived in Indonesia in 2017 on a 10-year conservation partnership with China. They live in an enclosure built for them at the park about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the capital in Cisarua, West Java province.

The two adult pandas have a large fan base in Indonesia. Rio’s birth has drawn many panda enthusiasts, and his public debut has been eagerly anticipated, with numerous requests on social media to see him soon.

The three of them are living in a three-tier temple known as the Panda Palace on a hill surrounded by about 5,000 square meters of land (1.2 acres) and equipped with an elevator, sleeping area, medical facilities and indoor and outdoor play areas.

Rio's name symbolizes the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species.

Pandas are China’s unofficial mascot and Beijing's loans of the animals to overseas zoos have long been seen as soft-power “panda diplomacy.”

Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are less than 1,900 giant pandas in their only wild habitats in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.

Rio was born through artificial insemination. Besides having a new individual, Rio also provides new genetic data on giant pandas, which can help research in Indonesia and in China, said Aswin Sumampau, president director of the park.

“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, a small victory for us, as we’ve managed to breed a species that is extremely difficult to breed. Just imagine, for the past two years, no pandas were born at any ex-situ conservation facility worldwide. Taman Safari has managed to do that,” Sumampau said.

Cai Tao, a 15-year-old giant panda, the father of Satrio Wiratama, the first panda cub born in Indonesia, sits in his enclosure at Indonesia Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed "Rio," the first giant panda cub born in Indonesia, bites a bamboo stick during a media preview at Indonesia Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Veterinarians treat Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed "Rio," the first giant panda cub born in Indonesia, during a media preview at Indonesia Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed "Rio," the first giant panda cub born in Indonesia, is shown during a media preview at Indonesia Safari Park in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)