A Weekend in Tangjiahe Nature Reserve, Sichuan

Eurasian Wild Pig (Sus scrofa)

Hello from China, where I’m one week into a 30-day, visa-free, trip to China. I’m traveling through Yunnan at the moment for 10 days, followed by a week around Xining in Qinghai province, then after two nights in Nanning, should finish up with a week in the southeast. Even with a month to play with I already realize I have tried to squeeze way too much into this visit. Old habits die hard.

My month began in Tangjiahe where I spent the weekend with my buddy Jiang Meng (‘Frank’) from Nanjing (see my reports from 2024 & 2025 for more about Frank and his work on the Nanjing Finless Porpoise) and his friend Li Peng who lives in Chengdu. Li Peng runs a company that works with national parks and nature reserves on nature education, outreach and capacity building. He’s also a bird and mammal guide and seems to know everyone in Tangjiahe. More about Li Peng at the end of this report.

Li Peng very kindly hosted me for my Tangjiahe weekend in exchange for me giving a quick interview about the very many wonders of mammalwatching and the reserve. This now appears on Tangjiahe’s home page. My new career as a mammalwatching influencer has begun! Maybe.

I’ve been to Tangjiahe twice before and wanted to return primarily to see a Northern Hog Badger. They are usually quite reliable but I’d missed them in December 2024. In April 2025 I saw a badger in southeast China, but the view was excruciatingly poor and I wanted a better look. I also hoped to see Asiatic Black Bears again which are regular here. Mammals aside, the weekend was also about enjoying this lovely reserve and catching up with Frank.

Tangjiahe is well documented in dozens of reports, including mine from 2024, so I won’t say much more other than to note that there are even more ungulates now than the last time I visited and the very comfortable hotel does a great flat white coffee (look on the menu for 澳白 “Australian White”).

Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)

It now takes only four hours to reach Tangjiahe from Chengdu. Even in an electric car. The pace of life in China has no patience for waiting for a recharge so Li Peng pulled into an automated station and swapped his battery for a charged one in under 3 minutes. China – 1: 0 – Tesla.

Checking into the hotel I ran into Tang Jun, Chengdu-based legendary bird and mammal guide who advertises on mammalwatching and has a great reputation. Even in China it’s a small world.

We arrived in the park at dusk on Friday evening and left Sunday morning. It was a relaxed trip once we found the hog badger, and I am sure we could have seen a bit more with more effort.

We took a long night drive on Friday. On Saturday afternoon Li Peng got permission for us to drive along the other road into Tangjiahe’s core area that is being repaired and closed to visitors. We drove from the hotel to the park gates and back on Saturday night and left on Sunday morning direct to Chengdu.

The Mammals

1. Tibetan Macaque (Macaca thibetana)

Several troops along the road during the day.

2. Pere David’s Rock Squirrel (Sciurotamias davidianus)

Just one bouncing around the rocks alongside the river.

3. Confucian White-bellied Rat (Niviventer confucianus)

One in a tree just after the hotel further up the mountain. Li Peng talked to a friend who has studied small mammals in the reserve and there are two species of Niviventer in the park: N. confucianus and N. excelsior. They are hard to tell apart. But excelsior seems confined to altitudes above 2000m and this animal was at 1500m.

So much as I wanted this to be a lifer I will record it as Confucian White-bellied Rat. If anyone thinks otherwise, I would love to know!

Photo Jiang Meng

4. Northern Hog Badger (Arctonyx albogularis)

One seen well but quite distantly on the slope just past the hotel further up the mountain. Frank managed to take some pictures. We may have seen a second animal crossing the road in front of us the next night.

5. Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)

Several on both nights.

6. Chinese Takin (Budorcas tibetana)

Abundant after dark. We must have seen 100 along the entrance road.

As we were leaving on Sunday morning, we saw this youngster (perhaps a month or two old) wandering alone.

7. Chinese Goral (Naemorhedus griseus)

Common along the entrance road after dark.

8. Tufted Deer (Elaphodus cephalophus)

Just one seen poorly at night. A few years ago Tufted Deer were abundant in the park. They all but disappeared – presumably from a disease – but are now returning.

9. Reeves’s Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi)

Abundant after dark, though apparently I didn’t manage to get a decent photo. One of Li Peng’s friends – Wenyong Wang – a park ranger who accompanied us into the core area on Saturday – sent me this stunning video of a pair of Yellow-throated Martens attacking a muntjac that he’d filmed the week before.

10. Eurasian Wild Pig (Sus scrofa)

Common especially near the hotel where they grazed the lawns.

Stuff We Missed

Quite a lot though this was not a hardcore weekend. I was surprised not to see a Maned Serow which I’d seen on both my previous visits to the park. We missed a Eurasian Otter by a minute: the birding group who saw it had seen a second animal a few minutes up the road too. Nor did we see any Asiatic Black Bears though three of them had been feeding on a dead Takin a couple of days before we arrived – here’s Wenyong Wang’s video.

Thanks

A very big thank you – once again – to Frank for making the weekend happen and for flying over from Nanjing to see me. And also thank you to Li Peng for looking after me so well. He’s a great guide who speaks very good English and has superb spotting skills. Also – very importantly – he has a great network of friends in Sichuan and beyond that can be instrumental in turning a good trip into a great one. We are now discussing a trip to Tibet next year which, with his help, might be possible even for foreign mammalwatchers. Li Peng works as a mammal and bird guide and you can contact him at rlee@foxmail.com.

Next stop Yunnan.

Chinese Takin (Budorcas tibetana)