Louguantai Wild Animal Center with an Encounter with Pandas
The Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center (or Qinling Sibao Science Park) is located in Louguantai, Zhouzhi County, Xi’an which is at the foothill of the Qinling Mountains, and about 70 km (about 1.5 hours drive) from Xi’an city center. Being established in 1987, it is the earliest wild animal rescue center in China and boasts as one of the four major panda breeding centers in the country.
In 2009, the Qinling Mountain ecological and living resources program of the Asian Development Band planned to invest RMB 0.38 billion in Louguantai Wild Animal Center to build it into the largest center of its kind. If you are traveling to Xian and want to see the lovely pandas, the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center is the place for you.
Travel Information
- Location: 195 meters southwest of the Louguandao Hot Spring Hotel on Wenquandao Road, Zhouzhi County, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province.
- Opening hours: 9:00-17:30 (Mar. – Nov.); 9:30-16:30 (Dec. – Feb.)
- Entrance fee: CNY 30 per person (Mar. – Nov.); CNY 20 per person (Dec. – Feb.)
- Recommended visiting time: 2-3 hours
Crestid Ibis
Why Visit the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center
- It is the only rare wildlife conservation base in Shaanxi, including the Qinling Giant Panda Research Center, the Qinling Giant Panda Breeding Base, and the Crested Ibis Ex-situ Breeding Base.
- Here you can see the brown pandas which are extremely rare thanks to the unique genetic mutation.
- See the largest clusters of crested ibises in the world.
- Different from pandas in Chengdu, the wild pandas in Qinling feature rounder head, and resemble cats more closely.
Animals in the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center
The Wild Animal Center is renowned for the four rare and endangered animals in Qinling Mountains, which are giant panda, crested ibis, golden snub-nosed monkey, and takin. Currently, the center showcases 10 to 15 giant pandas, 50 crested ibises, 8 golden snub-nosed monkeys, and 20 takins for visitors. “Qizai”, the world’s only artificially raised brown panda, is the most noteworthy.
Beyond these four treasures of Qinling, the center is also home to other rare wildlives, including red pandas, black bears, golden eagles, Eurasian eagle-owls, Eurasian hobbies, vultures, Reeves’s pheasants, pheasants, etc.
How to Get to Louguantai Wild Animal Center
- Take the Xi’an Mountain Ring Tourist Bus Line 1 from the North Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to get to the center.
- Take the long-distance bus from Xian Bus Station.
- Take a taxi or self-driving (about 1-1.5 hours’ drive).
