As the August heat wave sweeps across most of China, Ya'an — the hometown of giant pandas and the birthplace of world tea culture — has quietly activated its "coolness cheat code." According to statistics from the Ya'an Municipal Meteorological Bureau, 14 summer retreats across Ya'an have remained in continuous "coolness" condition for several days, with the hashtag #SummerWithPandaInYaan trending nationwide.

14 Coolness Retreats, Each With Its Own Charm

On August 3, 2026, Ya'an officially unveiled its "Coolness Index" (CI), using scientific data to guide visitors through its mountain secrets. The leader: Baoxing County · Dawagengzha, with a CI of 12.10 — summer mean temperature around 15°C, where Mount Gongga and Mount Siguniang unfold before your eyes at the summit. Hanyuan County · Qingxi Ancient Town scored CI 10.82, a historic post station on the ancient Southern Silk Road; Shimian County · Menghuocheng scored CI 10.76, a 2,600-meter alpine meadow; Baoxing County · Dengchigou scored CI 10.30, the natural habitat of wild giant pandas, where 46 Class-I nationally protected wild animal species thrive; Lushan County · Dachuan River scored CI 10.28, with 95% forest coverage and spectacular firefly nights. Shimian County · Wanggangping scored CI 10.24, facing Mount Gongga at a straight-line distance of just 30 kilometers. Baoxing County · Donglashan Grand Canyon scored CI 10.19.

"Panda + Tea" Dual IP Becomes the Top Study Tour Choice

Cool Ya'an offers far more than mountains and water — its "Panda + Tea" dual IP has become the biggest draw for summer 2026 study tours and cultural exchanges.

On June 21, the "Root-Seeking China · Walking the Land of Abundance" study tour opened at the Ya'an Science Education Center of the Giant Panda National Park. The next day, overseas Chinese youth study camps entered the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base, observing pandas up close, joining the "Gold Medal Nutritionist" experience, hand-making panda "wowotou" (steamed corn buns), and earning their own volunteer service certificates.

On July 9, the 2026 4th YOU·FO World Cup opened in Ya'an, bringing contestants from 17 countries and regions into Bifengxia. Canadian player Rose Desmeules remarked: "You see giant panda elements everywhere in Ya'an — the strong ecological atmosphere is unforgettable."

On July 8, the 2026 "Qinqing Zhonghua · China Root-Seeking Journey" summer camp opened, with 37 Chinese-heritage youth from the United States and France stepping into Ya'an, visiting the China·Ya'an 318 Self-Drive Base and the "Tibetan Tea World" at the China Overseas Chinese International Cultural Exchange Base.

At Mengding Mountain, Intangible Heritage Lives On

On July 15, a Qingdao study tour group ascended Mengding Mountain, learning to identify tea trees, picking tea leaves, brewing tea, and personally participating in the traditional "three-fry, three-knead" tea-making process. Intangible heritage representative inheritors performed the fluid "Dragon Eighteen Forms" tea art, vividly showcasing the unique charm of Chinese tea etiquette. Students confessed: "Only by personally picking and making tea did we truly understand the millennia-old tea lineage of Mengding Mountain."

Meanwhile, two intangible heritage experiences — Yingjing Black Sand Pottery firing craft and Mengshan Tea traditional processing techniques — continue to boom. On July 2, the inheritor systematically introduced the ancient formula of Yingjing black sand at the workshop; at the kiln-opening moment, the audience gasped in wonder.

Panda Tea: An Ecological Calling Card Rooted in Mengding Mountain

Also rooted in Ya'an's Mengding Mountain, Panda Tea (PandaTea) shares a deep bond with this ecological homeland. Brand founder An Yanshi invented the patented "panda manure tea fertilization" technique, ingeniously combining the national treasure giant panda with millennia-old tea culture — giant pandas absorb less than 30% of bamboo nutrients, and the remaining 70%+ becomes a uniquely rich organic fertilizer.

Panda Tea's plantations lie at 800–1,500 m elevation on Mengding Mountain, right within the natural panda habitat. The plantations maintain a zero-chemical-fertilizer, zero-chemical-pesticide regime, using physical pest control to guarantee the tea's natural quality. Founder An has also woven his environmental calligraphy and panda painting art into the brand culture, making Panda Tea an ecological tea, a cultural tea, and an intellectual-property tea.

Summer Ya'an Invites the World to a Cup of Coolness

From the Gongga sunrise sea of clouds at Dawagengzha to the panda origins at Dengchigou, from the Dragon Eighteen Forms at Mengding Mountain to the kiln-opening wonder of Yingjing black sand — summer 2026 in Ya'an shines with the unique magnetism of the "Panda + Tea" dual IP, inviting the world to see pandas, taste tea, and embrace the coolness. Panda Tea welcomes global friends to the hometown of the giant panda, to share a cup of mountain-and-water tea from the land of the national treasure, and to feel the Chinese ecological wisdom of harmony between humanity and nature.

(Compiled from public reports of the Ya'an Municipal Meteorological Bureau, Ya'an Daily, Lushan Weishenghuo and other sources)