Ya'an Bifengxia Base Center of Giant Panda

The panda base is actually closed between 11:30 and 13:30. We arrived at 11:30 and so we decided to do the hike first. Despite our best efforts and being experienced travelers, we had a tough time finding our way around. It is quite difficult to find proper information on the center with the help of western media like Google. So I hope this will help others.
You can go: (ccw) Parking / ticket office - shuttle - panda base - gorge hike (~2hrs) - elevator* - parking / ticket office.
Or the other way around (cw), which is what we did.

* you can also choose to finish the hike rather than take the elevator as there is another 800m or so to go and back up the main road.
Also note: the panda base and the zoo are separate. We had no interest in the zoo. Of course you could skip the hike or the panda base if you so prefer.

The hike through the gorge is beautiful and interesting. The road is paved, at times steep. There are signs that tell the many legends and myths (goddess Nv'wa).
It is probably easiest to do the shuttle first, then the panda base, then the hike in the other direction (ccw). You then end it by taking the lift up to the parking lot. Our way, cw, was quite steep after the two rivers came together and we started going up.
We were there in November and the place was deserted. A nice change from other, overcrowded tourist places.

On the photo with the map:
The parking is at the Tourist Center.
We started our hike where you see the large panda face. The hike is the thick green line.
As you can see, there is a piece to the right, which we skipped. On the map it is also indicated as "the right".
The thin red line is the panda base.
The thick red line is the route the shuttle takes between the panda base and the parking. This road is not accessible for other vehicles, like your own. Thus, you have to take the shuttle.
The hike tilts in the upper left corner: if you started at the elevator like us, this is where the path starts to go 'up' instead of going 'down'.