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GYC1167 - Panda Conservation near Xi'an Country: China Cost: £1195.00 Cost Includes: The price includes accommodation, food, kit and pickup from airport but does not include flight, insurance or visas      Duration: 2 weeks Company Rep Nearby: All 0845 344 7592 or

 

	This placement would suit... Someone with a love for animals and a genuine desire to make a difference to one of the world's most endangered animals. This project is perfect if you’re a mature and responsible person, with good communication skills. You’ll have plenty of chances to use your initiative so you can get stuck in and help out with a wide range of tasks. You need to be quite independent and confident too, as the project is in a remote location with limited facilities and as a foreigner you will attract attention! The minimum age for this project is 21 and a CV is required for confirmation from the project. Life is rarely black and white - unless you're a Giant Panda on the brink of extinction. With a total world population of 1,000, 270 of which are in the Shaanxi reserves, there are certainly no grey areas up for discussion. Volunteers who have had their eye on this line of conservation work can now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal to these living fossils and "panda" to their every need. Based in majestic surroundings at the foot of the Qingling mountains, volunteers will also have the chance to work with fascinating species indigenous to China such as the Golden Monkey, Crested Ibis and the sheep-like Takin. Volunteers will be involved with shedding some light on the plight of all these creatures by developing literature, programmes of activities, teaching resources and internet/email facilities. Project details: At this project you will be working in a Chinese conservation centre that aims to preserve some of the world's most endangered species. These include Giant Pandas, Golden Monkeys, the Crested Ibis, the Takin; which is a large sheep-like creature that lives only in China and Bhutan, as well as the Sika, which is similar in appearance to a deer. The Golden Monkeys and the crested Ibis are both indigenous to China. The world's total population of wild Giant Pandas stands at about 1,000, which are mainly distributed in Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces of China. In Shaanxi, there are about 270 giant pandas living in Panda Reservations. At the centre where you will be working they are currently looking after and monitoring ten giant pandas. Why the project needs volunteers: Volunteers can help the staff with their English, which is important so that they can attract more tourists and generate an increase in revenue at the centre, this can then pay for research and looking after the pandas. The project staff also want to improve and practise their English so that they can attend international conferences about animal conservation. Your role as a volunteer: You will be able to get involved with a wide variety of activities at the project including general maintenance activities at the park, as well as cleaning animal enclosures. There will also be general reserve tasks to do such as plant control and fencing. You may also become involved in helping to keep the website updated, designing pamphlets for foreign tourists and depending on the numbers of foreign tourists visiting the park, you may be asked to lead tours. A TEFL course is also included in this venture as there will be an element of teaching on an informal basis at this project. You will be asked to teach conversational English to the staff to enable them to communicate with the tourists and so that they can work towards being able to attend international endangered animal conferences and translate journals. Where the project is based: You will be working in a very remote location, which is 1 ?- 2 hours away from Xi'an city centre. The area is very rural and volunteers should be aware that there is not really any nightlife, restaurants or shops. The accommodation that you will be staying in is at a nice hotel in beautiful surroundings, which is just 10 minutes walk from the park. This will be based on shared rooms. Meals are included and obtained at a nearby restaurant. There are beautiful reserves up in the hills to trek in and you may wish to bring reading materials or an activity to occupy yourself with in the evenings. There is very limited public transport but you may be able to ride with project staff into Xi'an at weekends so that you can see the sights (terracotta warriors, Chinese Gardens, historic Muslim Quarter, City wall, bell tower and Pagodas), get internet access and explore. The region that you will be located in is at the northern foot of Mount Zhongnan, 15 kilometers southeast of the seat of Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi Province. The area is backed by mountains and overlooks a river. The surrounding forests are very lush and beautiful and are great for walking in and are full of Chinese pine, juniper trees and bamboo. In order to protect the Pandas from any infections the project has requested that you provide a medical note from your doctor on arrival at the project confirming that you are fit and well and are not carrying any infectious diseases. Please book your flight to arrive into Xi'anyang airport in Xi'an (airport code XIY) on the advertised arrival date to ensure your airport pickup. Some volunteers also like to travel overland from places like Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai. Please note that we can normally arrange for an airport pick up at an additional fee if you are arriving early, please contact the office to arrange. 0845 344 7592 i-to-i: We pride ourselves in a high level of service to ensure that all our gap year travellers get the most our of their meaningful travel. With Teaching, Community Development, Conservation, Sports, Media and Health placements in 24 countries, we can offer you the meaningful gap year that you want.