Bifengxia Scenic Area

Chinese Name: 碧峰峡风景区 (Bi Feng Xia Feng Jing Qu)
Location: Yucheng District, Ya’an Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Ticket: Entrance ticket for Valley Scenic Area CNY 100.00; entrance ticket for Zoo CNY 180.00; battery cart at panda base CNY 15.00; battery cart at zoo CNY 20.00
Estimated tour time: Half day
Recommended time to visit: May to Oct.
Nearby attractions: Shangli Ancient Town, Longcanggou National Forest Park, Mount Wawu Scenic Area, Mount Emei, Leshan Giant Buddha, Mount Mengding, etc.

Ya'an is located at the intersection of Sichuan-Tibet and Sichuan-Yunnan highways, 120 kilometers away from Chengdu. It is a transitional zone between the Sichuan Basin and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It ranks first in the evaluation of the province's ecological environment quality. Fresh and humid air is a feature here, its vegetation, gorges, waterfalls and snow let it gains the fame of “the Small Jiuzhaigou” and “the Lung of Sichuan”. Travelers head to Ya’an as a hub for activities such as picking tea leaves on the well-known Mt.Mengding (蒙顶山), watching sunrise from above the clouds at Mt.Niubei (Bull Back Mountain, 牛背山), or getting a glimpse of some of the 2,400 surviving giant pandas in the world. 

Bifengxia Scenic Area is located in the northern part of Ya'an, about 128 kilometers from Chengdu. It is divided into an ecological scenic area, a wildlife park and a giant panda base which is in the scenic area. The wildlife park is outside the scenic area. There are about 300 species of wild animals, more than 10,000. It is mainly divided into a beast area by vehicles and a tame animals area by foot. Both the scenic area and the panda base are highly recommended.

Bifengxia Valley is characteristed by exuberant forests and green peaks for its name “Bifeng Xia” literally means “Green Peak Valley” in Chinese. Here, visitors can breath in deeply to sniff the rich fragrance from the mountains and valleys. On the other hand, it is a wonderful place for people to avoid the summer heat. The scenic spot is combined with two V–shaped valleys with the left one 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long and the right one 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. Huanglong Valley, Tianxian Bridge, Qiancengyan (Thousand-layered Rock/Pancake Rock) Waterfall, Bailongtan (White Dragon Pool) Waterfall, Nuwa Pool and some others fall in Bifeng Valley.

● Highlights of Bifengxia Scenic Area

Qingyun Elevator 

It is the tallest sightseeing elevator in the world. The elevator is a 91.8-meter (301-foot) drop. Qingyun means bluish green cloud which is also used to refer to high official rank metaphorically. Visitors can take the elevator to the bottom of the valley and begin their trip.

Qiancengyan Waterfall 

The Qiancengyan (Thousand-layered Rock/Pancake Rock) Waterfall is about 100 meters high and 10 meters wide. The waterfall is divided into three sections by rocks, coupled with two walls entwined with vines, thus is also called "the triple-lap with vegetation". It is said that Nuwa (女娲) used to keep records by tying knots and engraving stones. When she was mending the big hole in the sky, she carved a mark on the palisades with each passing day. Therefore, 1028 sword marks were left by Nuwa on the Qiancengyan walls in Bifengxia scenic area.

Nuwa Pool 

Located under the Bailongtan Waterfall, the open pool is formed by the waterfall’s flush for many years. It is said that it is the bathing place of Nuwa (女娲) – an ancient goddess of China. It is more than 80 meters long and 30 meters wide. The water here is as clear and blue as a mirror.

Panda Base

The full name of the base is Ya’an Base of China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Centre. Like the Wolong center, the Bifengxia Giant Panda base is a branch of the China Conservation & Research Center for the Giant Panda, (CCRCGP) Wolong Nature Center, under the Department of Forestry. The Bifengxia center was completed in 2003 and covers nearly 400 hectares, which is about 988 acres. It is the home for 80 giant pandas and some of whom may be returned to the wild. The base was established in prime forest in Ya’an for research purposes rather than tourism, and its mission expanded in 2008 following the earthquake that severely damaged the Wolong Reserve.

The base staffs focus on both breeding and training pandas. In order to avoid inbreeding, the scientists and staffs have tried to return some pandas to the wild. In 2012, the staffs released a male panda into Liziping Nature Reserve which 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 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.

In addition, for those interested in working as volunteers for pandas, it is available here. However, the daily quota of volunteers is limited, the base only accepts 60 applications for the volunteer program per day.