The Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center announced a permanent ban on 12 tourists for disrespecting “national treasures”.
According to the announcement on the Center’s WeChat account, 12 visitors ranging in age from 26 to 61, were caught throwing bamboo shoots, candy sticks, cigarettes, eggs, bread, and even spitting into the fun area. Panda’s outdoor play.
The reserve does not disclose the nationality or specific identities of the banned visitors. These are individual violations, occurring sporadically from April to June this year.
One of the 12 guests ignored the staff’s instructions and used an umbrella to poke through the fence to tease the panda, potentially causing injury to the protected animal. Luckily, after examination, veterinary staff confirmed that the panda’s health was not affected.
Panda at the Conservation Center in Chengdu, China. Image: Border of Adventure
The Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center, a favorite destination for domestic and foreign tourists, emphasizes strict regulations for visitors on its website including keeping quiet and avoiding close contact with pandas. “Litter, spitting, throwing food into pandas’ play areas and other behaviors that threaten their safety are strictly prohibited,” the website reads.
Violating these regulations can result in different penalties such as warnings and education, a one-year, five-year, or even permanent ban from visiting, depending on the level of behavior. This is not the first time the Center has imposed a permanent ban. In April, the management board of the reserve issued a similar penalty to 6 tourists for “unsavory behavior”, including a young person who deliberately sprayed water at the panda.
The situation of “uncivilized tourists” is not only a challenge at the Chengdu Panda Research Center but also at many other attractions. In 2018, four Chinese tourists were “blacklisted” at a nature reserve in Shaanxi province for throwing rocks at pandas. Last year, a male tourist was permanently banned from Shanghai Disneyland park for yelling at staff when asked to stop smoking.
Uncivilized behavior at tourist destinations has been listed by the country’s General Department of Tourism with specific sanctions. Tourists will be blacklisted if they misbehave, destroy public or private property, disrespect local customs, and destroy historical artifacts. Depending on the severity, the acts will be subject to administrative sanctions, banning or imprisonment.
Staff bottle-feed baby pandas at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center. Image: China Daily
Established in 1987, Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center aims to become “a world-class research facility, education and conservation center and international tourist destination”. In 2006, the Center was ranked second in China’s 5-star rating system for tourist attractions. The place once welcomed more than 9 million visitors in just one year.
Coming to the Center, visitors can visit designs that simulate the panda’s natural habitat and learn how scientists study the behavior of this species.
The conservation efforts of Chinese scientists here have paid off. As of 2023, the center has had more than 200 pandas successfully born and raised. In 2018, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) upgraded the panda’s conservation status from “endangered” to “vulnerable”, reducing the warning level by one level.