Wolong closed to foreigners. Now what should we do?

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Wolong closed to foreigners. Now what should we do?
Mar 21, 2008 09:12
guest24631	We have a trip planned to go to the Panda Reserve in Wolong in about 3 weeks, but we just got notice that it's been closed to foreigners. Now we're not sure what to do. We land in Chengdu on April 14 and was expected to head to Wolong for 3 days. Hopefully they open the region up again in 3 weeks, but if they don't what would you suggest we do for 3 days? Thanks for your help

Mar 21, 2008 22:41	#1
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	Emeishan, Leshan and Chengdu.

Mar 23, 2008 00:01	#2
CHINATRAVELG... Points: Join Date: Mar 22, 2008 Status: Offline	You can try Jiuzhaigou too.

Mar 26, 2008 07:53

JABAROOTOO
Points:
Join Date: Jul 4, 2005
Status: Offline

Do you know why the park is currently closed to foreigners???

The county seat of Wenchuan just south of Wolong is a good place to visit as a base just in case the park re-opens while you are there - from here it's a short trip up the valley to Taoping (Read Review) and there are several other villages nearby that are also worth a visit. Wenchuan has a defensive wall on the mountains surrounding the town and the Min rivers valley is stunning.

You could even go as far west at Maerkang to visit Zhuokeji and Songgan (Read review) Just travelling up the valleys to these places is interesting in itself.

Apr 2, 2008 23:07	#4
GUEST68131	The Panda Breeding Research centre in the north east of Chengdu City has plenty of pandas and provides panda hugging (for a price). Visit in the morning as the pandas appear to be sleeping indoors on hot days. - 10 km Jinsha Museum - Chengdu City - don't miss it.

Apr 15, 2008 04:30	#5
GUESTMATT (D...	Wolong is defnitely NOT closed to foreigners. I have been past twice myself in the last two weeks. Maerkang on the other hand IS closed to foreigners for the conceivable future. Lixian, Wenchuan, Songpan and Jiuzaigou are all open.

Apr 15, 2008 05:38	#6
DRAGONEXPEDI... Points: Join Date: Apr 15, 2008 Status: Offline	Wenchuan is actually to the NORTH of Wolong and is around two hours drive these days. So far as I know there is no direct bus; you would have to change at Yingxiu. There is a brand new road open from Yingxiu to Wenchuan, and the road widening from Yingxiu to Wolong is also now more or less complete. The wall above Wenchuan is certainly worth a couple of hours visit if you're passing through.

Apr 15, 2008 07:32	#7
JABAROOTOO Points: Join Date: Jul 4, 2005 Status: Offline	Anyone got any information about the Minority Qiang villages near Wenchuan apart from Taoping. What about places like Danba and Sigunian If Maerkang is closed to foreigners, how about these other places. We are considering going up there during May

Apr 15, 2008 10:29	#8
ELLYSE Points: Join Date: Oct 30, 2005 Status: Offline	Danba seems to be open, but Litang not. There're some threads on the Lonely Planet ThornTree forum, North-East Asia branch (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=19) about the travel situation in Kham.

May 18, 2008 23:01	#9
GUEST16133	There is a great Panda Station in the center of Chengdu, which has about 60 pandas including babies that was not damaged. You can also hold the pandas there for a donation. I've been to Wolong. From the descriptions I've heard there is no way it will be open again in 3 weeks. They'll be lucky to have it open in 3 months. But, the Chengdu Panda Station is well worth the trip. Good luck.

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