Seeing pandas in real life has long been on my bucket-list. They are by far my favourite animal, with red pandas and raccoons (trash pandas) trailing in close second and third. To my disbelief, when researching Things To Do In Adelaide, I discovered that Adelaide Zoo has two resident pandas.
So, during my week in Adelaide, I decided to visit the zoo and spend a couple of hours there. In fact, I ended up losing most of my afternoon to two Giant Pandas, doing very little, very slowly, and escaping the mid-day heat.
Xing Qiu and Yi Lan arrived from China at the end of 2024, and replaced Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who had been there since 2009. They live in the Bamboo Forest enclosure and remain the only giant pandas in Australia.
Best for: Panda fans, first-time visitors to Adelaide, families, and anybody wanting to find something to do within walking distance of the city centre.
For 15 years, the pandas at Adelaide Zoo were Wang Wang and Fu Ni. They arrived in 2009, became the zoo’s headline attraction, and returned to China in late 2024. Most of the information online seems to only speak about these two, and disregard the new stars in town.
Luckily, our new stars arrived from China in December 2024 and have been viewable to the public since January 2025. When I visited in January 2026, they were settled in and entirely unbothered by the people watching them.
If you want to see the giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo, then you can find them in the Bamboo Forest, located near the entrance of the park. There are two options on entry to the park, either via the General Admission ticket, or via The Pandas & Friends Tour (more on that below).
You can get the General Admission ticket here:
The current pair are Xing Qiu, a male born in 2020, and Yi Lan, a female born in 2021. Xing Qiu is pronounced roughly “shing chee-yull” and Yi Lan is “ee-lun”.
Both of the pandas came to Adelaide from panda facilities in China as part of an ongoing conservation and breeding arrangement between the two countries. Official South Australian government material describes them as the only giant pandas in Australia and in the southern hemisphere.
The new pair of pandas are on a long-term loan for 10 years. But, the original pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, arrived in 2009 on a 10 year loan too. This was extended by five years in 2019, so they stayed until late 2024. So, who is to say? At least we know, they’ll be around until at least 2034.
The giant panda’s enclosure is called the Bamboo Forest. I had planned to see the pandas, take a few photographs and move on. Instead, I ended up sitting in the shade, just watching them get on with their day. They eat, they move, eat some more, and occasionally look mildly inconvenienced by their own body weight – they are absolutely hilarious!
I visited Adelaide Zoo, and the giant pandas around the middle of the day, and had the panda enclosure entirely to myself, which I had not expected at all. Nobody was jostling for position and there was no need to wait for a gap in front of the glass.
However, the catch is that midday is also the hottest part of the day, and the pandas have a climate-controlled indoor area they sensibly retreat into, so I was largely watching them through glass rather than out among the bamboo – although I did get some time with them outside.
If you can, I would suggest trying to go first thing as soon as the zoo opens as the animals will have just woken up and want to seize the day. My one caveat is, I honestly think everyone else is also doing this, so that’s something you’ll need to weigh up.
There is also a premium option that you may wish to consider. I did not book this experience, simply because it didn’t match up with my itinerary, but if I returned, I’d definitely splash the cash…
The zoo runs a guided panda morning that gets you into the Bamboo Forest before the gates open to the public. It runs around two and half hours, general zoo entry is included, and alongside a private viewing of Xing Qiu and Yi Lan, you get to watch Ravi, the resident red panda, having his breakfast up in the trees. There is a guided walk around the rest of the zoo afterwards and morning tea at the cafe.
Well, as I’m sure everyone knows – pandas can be lazy. But, they are considerably more active first thing in the morning, before the day warms up. Which is the exact problem I had when I saw them at midday.
Another thing, if you want to snap some good photos of the pandas, during the day, you’ll be battling with the reflection of the glass. The indoor viewing glass has a reflective tint to it, which makes shooting through it considerably harder than ordinary glass. Pressing the lens flat against the surface and blocking the light behind you helps, but it does not solve it, and the indoor area is dim enough that you will be pushing your ISO up anyway.
Photographs of the pandas outside among the bamboo are far easier and far better. If panda photography matters to you, then try to aim for The Panda & Friends Tour.
Yes, and I say that as someone who would rather see animals in the wild than behind glass. My case to you is, these are the only two giant pandas in Australia – with the closest pandas being in Indonesia at the Taman Safari. If you’re coming to Adelaide, this is such a rare opportunity you won’t want to miss.
If you do decide to come visit the giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo, then make sure you visit during a time you will be comfortable with. For most, that’s first thing in the morning either on the tour or not. This way, you get them at the best, rather than the slightly tired pandas I saw at midday.
And, as a bonus, you also get access to the rest of the zoo and all the animals that come with that, which can easily be walked around in about 2 hours. It is located minutes from The North Terrace, and if you want to extend your time in the parklands, the Botanic Park is just next door.
One last thing, on a more personal note… Funnily enough, a couple of months after I got back from Australia, Lucy, our founder, visited the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion in Seac Pai Van Park over on Coloane. So, that is two of us who can now tick giant pandas off the bucket list, on opposite sides of the world, and within the same year. Neither of us in the wild, admittedly – maybe something to work on…
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