Those with a taste for adventure and rare animals can see endangered Tibetan antelope begin their annual migration this month, as well as migratory birds, giant pandas, golden monkeys and other protected species.

Rare treats are in store for those who venture to see China's rare animals, and August is the perfect time to witness the awesome migration of Tibetan antelope on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau.

The plateau and Qinghai Lake are also home to thousands of migratory birds. They will begin leaving in September when the weather gets cold.

Less demanding are trips to Sichuan Province to see the giant pandas and to Shaanxi Province to see golden monkeys.

In all cases, the scenery is spectacular.

Roly-poly pandas

Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province

After watching the two "Kung Fu Panda" films, the place to the genuine endangered animal, the famous Wolong National Nature Reserve in spectacularly beautiful Sichuan Province, becomes a hot destination again.

China's No. 1 living national treasure is roly-poly and clumsy but almost unbearably cute with a circle of black fur around its eyes, black ears, black chest and black arms and legs, contrasting with a white body.

The Wolong reserve is one of 13 giant panda nature reserves supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 1978 the first giant panda observation station was established there, and the center itself was set up in 1963 in mixed forests with plenty of bamboo, the panda's favorite food.

More than 200 pandas live there in the wild, including 97 that were bred there and are five years old or older. They mostly sit around or roll on the ground and eat bamboo. Males can weigh 50 kilograms, females 125. The lifespan is 20-30 years.

The reserve covers 200,000 hectares.

Visitors can "adopt" their own panda, by donating to a panda protection program. They can even name their panda.

The reserve is in Wenchuan County, hard-hit by the 2008 earthquake. Most of the county's 5,300 residents are Tibetan and Qian ethnic minority people.

The wildlife reserve encompasses around 100 mountains and contains some virgin forest, streams and water falls. The highest peak is Four Girls Mountain (Siguniang Mountain), 6,250 meters above sea level.

More than 2,200 animals - four-footed, six-footed and those without feet - live there. Plant and animal specimens can be seen in an exhibition hall.

Admission: 10 yuan per person (with an extra 8 yuan you can visit the Panda House)

How to get there: Direct flight from Shanghai to Chengdu takes about two and half hours. From the capital city, a shuttle bus leaves for the reserve at 6:40am daily from the Chengdu Bus Station.

Shuttle bus ticket: 40 yuan per person.

Minibuses can be rented at 700 yuan per day for 7 seats; more for larger vehicles.

Golden monkeys

Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve, Shaanxi Province

Golden monkeys are the prime attraction, but there are also giant pandas, takin (a large goat-antelope), and various other animals and birds.

The golden monkeys are quite athletic, highly intelligent and their antics are hilarious. They often draw crowds of tourists to the forested reserve at the foothills of the Qingling Mountains. Human and primate interaction is fascinating.

However charming they are, monkeys do bite and are wild animals, so visitors should be careful.

The reserve, at an elevation of 1,500 meters, contains 14 troops of golden monkeys and a total population of 1,500 primates.

Feeding hour is from 11am to 12pm. Visitors watch the monkeys coming from various parts of the forest to be fed by animal protection staff who throw fresh fruit to them.

Feeding time is good time to get closer to the monkeys but visitors should be quiet; monkeys don't like to be bothered while they eat. This is a good time to take pictures of monkeys playing, eating and fighting over food.