Daily Daydream: Bifengxia Panda Base, China

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

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Seeing pandas behind bars at the zoo or on the Nature Channel just isn’t cutting it anymore—you need to hug a live baby panda. Your dreams can come true at the Bifengxia Panda Base in China.

The base has plenty of pandas, including some familiar faces (pandas from zoos in D.C. and San Diego have been relocated there). Even more pandas were moved there in 2008, following the earthquake in Sichuan which damaged the panda facility there. You can sign up for a volunteer stay at the base, helping staffers do general maintenance tasks like cleaning or food preparation, or visit for a day, and get your picture snapped snuggling a panda.

Where is it? Bifeng Gorge in Ya’an, China. (About an hour outside of Chengdu.)

Where to stay? Stay at the number one TripAdvisor-rated hotel in Ya’an, the Xikang Hotel, which features a central location and beautiful river views.

What else should I know? Cuteness doesn’t come cheap—expect to shell out over $100 to hold a cub.

Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to hold a panda!

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