Giant Panda Breeding Facility

Officially the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, located just on the outskirts of sprawling Chengdu. The facility opened in 1987 with only a handful of individual pandas, since then they claim to have bred 261 animals and have welcomed some 3.5 million visitors a year (2017). Wild numbers seem to be increasing, but the range is entirely within China's borders and the government claims ownership of each individual panda throughout the world. It's no longer possible to hold a panda here, but still likely the best opportunity you'll have in seeing pandas in a natural setting. Although that last claim should be tempered, the wild range of pandas tends to fall in protected areas inaccessible to tourists. The pandas you see rolling around the slopes here are captive bred and the facility backs onto a reservation area purpose-built/claimed specifically for the panda breeding effort.