As China gears up for the Olympic Games, Chengdu is leading the way in a drive to modernize in time for China's great moment under the spotlight of the world. Nowhere exemplifies the change for modernity more than Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base and Breeding Institute. Having been an annual visitor from 1998, I can see the changes have been massive and effective.

Chinese care takers display nine panda cubs, from two-week-old to two-month-old, as they prepare to feed them at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu, China's Sichuan province Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006. The nine panda cubs, which were born this year, will be part of the attractions that tourists coming to the center will be able to enjoy in Chengdu during the upcoming National Day holidays. [AP]

The research base is a credit to the city and the country.

Since the institute opened in 1987 it has not only made a monumental scientific contribution to the conservation and safety of the giant panda but it has also contributed to the education of the people of Chengdu and also the thousands of visitors that come to see the pandas every single day. People from all over China and increasingly, from all around the world.

I first visited the base in 1998 on assignment for the Daily Mail newspaper, the most popular title in the United Kingdom. I was sent by the editor who was fascinated after hearing the base had successfully reared a baby panda called Shi Shi. A picture had been published showing the tiny 65-gram panda cub that had a striking resemblance to a rat! I was sent to see how this "rat-panda" was doing at 6 months of age. Chief vet Yu was most welcoming and courteous and hospitable. He showed me around the base.

I was shown Cheng Cheng and her cub Shi Shi and just like all first time visitors I could not help myself smiling from ear to ear. I was struck not only by the playfulness and cuddliness of the beautiful animals but also the tender care and protection that the mother bestowed upon her offspring. Mother pandas cradle their babies in just the same way as humans. I watched these pandas for two days.

At the time the baby "nursery" consisted of little more than a brick shed. There were about three cages in which the mothers and their cubs were housed. Adjoining this "shed" was the panda "special care" facility where new-borns, whose mothers were unable to raise their youngsters themselves, were kept in three baby incubators.

The newspaper ran a beautiful double page spread with the headline "Baby Haven't You Grown." Later the same year I retuned during the late summer when the baby's are born. I photographed several baby panda's. I was introduced to a panda cub called Qi Zhen, meaning "seven stitches." Her mother, Cheng Cheng, had rejected her and torn the tiny babies stomach after tossing her across the cage. Veterinary surgeon Yu had performed a miraculous operation; the first ever of it's kind, and saved the panda's life. The dedication of the staff at the base, who at the time was working in quite a basic facility, struck home.

Since then the panda research base has changed in many ways. The widening and cleaning of paths, have aided visitors' access in the same way that the education of the public has become a number one concern of the base. The Research Base has developed a comprehensive conservation education department to educate citizens about global wildlife conservation issues and what all people can do to help preserve biodiversity.

The nursery that was built in 2002 was thoughtfully designed with the public in mind. The special nursery facility was built with an outward facing glass wall allowing the public to watch as the babies are reared.

This year has already seen the biggest changes at the facility, as it has become an oasis of conservation. The base is a clear leader in China in terms of management and public education on a par with similar animal facilities in the West, certainly with my native Britain.

The paths are cleanly paved and litterbins even are environmentally friendly! There is no litter and to great credit of the management the "no smoking policy" is followed by all visitors. The well-manicured lawns and flowerbeds along with wooden signs and notices are an inspiration to the public. Visitors leave the base thinking how an environment can inspire one to care about the space pandas live in, but also humans too.

The population of pandas has more than doubled since my first visit. This year was an all time record with 10 babies born. Next year will see the completion of massive multi-million dollar projects at the base including: a new interactive museum, a multi-purpose panda nursery and hospital, as well as a new research block and feeding storage area. The base will increase in size and become ready to welcome the influx of new visitors and tourists that will flood Chengdu, especially in the lead up to the Olympics.

I returned this year to photograph the tiny cub I first encountered 8 years ago that had undergone the operation ¨C Qi Zhen. The panda had become a mother herself to twins, one of which was the smallest panda ever born in captivity. The tiny baby called Wu Shi Yi (51 grams) was making waves in the world news just like her mother had before her. The story had come around full cirle.

As I landed at the new airport and my taxi sped me through the bright lights and bustle of the city center I was struck by the "buzz" of expectation and anticipation in the air. Chengdu city had changed. The modern city centre now rivaled the lights of Shanghai's Nanjing Lu. Heaps of newly opened designer shops rival the best Hong Kong has to offer. The following day I sped through the Central Business District to the Business and Technology Park that is on a par with Shenzhen.

Finally I arrived at the Panda Research Base and was immediately struck by the recent changes that have engulfed the place. First and foremost the ten new tiny baby cubs, but also the whole look and feel of the place has taken on a new maturity. The place feels, as if it knows exactly where it is going and also has a plan to get there. The new director Zhang Zhihe has done an out-standing job in science, people management, park management and, not least, panda management. The best years of Chengdu and it's panda research base lie ahead and if they are half as exciting as the past eight years we will all be in for a fantastic ride.