Chengdu's love affair endures for giant pandas

New park to extend operations to protect, celebrate much-adored exotic animal

Chengdu, the capital of the province of Sichuan and renowned in China and throughout the world as the home of the giant panda, is taking its love affair with the exotic animal to a new level.

Officials said the city will further promote its unique and extensive cultural activities involving the giant panda and the development of its associated tourism industry, to strengthen its position as a cultural and creative hub in western China.

In ancient times, the habitats of the giant panda were mainly distributed in the mountains in mid-western China in several provinces, but in Sichuan, the number of pandas is the largest.

Now, a new giant panda-centered park, named the Sino-France Chengdu Giant Panda Ecological and Creative Industrial Park, will be built in Chengdu to expand the provincial capital's panda operations even further.

French scientific and educational institution Deyrolle, Chengdu Culture& Tourism Development Group and Guangdong Fangsuo Cultural Investment and Development Co have partnered to build and operate the park, according to a cooperation framework agreement signed in early 2018.

The park neighbors the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, one of the most important giant panda research centers in China, and will cover some 5,257 mu (350 hectares).

When completed, it will focus on developing panda-related media products, supporting giant panda breeding, providing education and training services and promoting panda culture tourism. It will also develop giant panda-related intellectual properties resources.

According to the plan, the first stage of the park will comprise eight centers, including an interactive museum for the natural sciences and the arts, an intellectual property research and development center for the giant panda and an agriculture center and educational center for sustainable development.

Deyrolle and its owner, Louis Albert de Broglie, will be responsible for designing the eight centers. The facility is set to be completed in 2021.

"The project will mobilize knowhow from companies and institutions in France and China, to raise public awareness about the importance of protecting nature and the need to protect biodiversity," Broglie said.

"The giant panda is already a symbol of this imperative around the world," he added.

The facility will be the only panda-themed park in the world that focuses on promoting the relationship between man and nature, the sciences and arts, entertainment and education, life and the green biology industry, according to tourism officials.

"The project will expand the awareness of China's panda culture in the world and help deepen cooperation between China and France in fields such as the arts and natural sciences," said Jiang Weiwei, general manager of Chengdu Culture & Tourism Development Group.

The planned park will not be the only facility in Chengdu that promote the development of the culture surrounding the giant panda.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, home to more than 100 giant pandas, has long been committed to building itself into a mecca for the protection of the vulnerable species in China. It has arranged different types of activities, so that people have a greater chance to interact with and learn more about pandas.

In January last year, 23 panda cubs in the facility were presented together in an initiative by the park to send Spring Festival greetings to all its visitors, attracting wide praise.

In March this year, the facility launched a plan to upgrade its panda operations so that the public could obtain more knowledge about the animal. It plans to partner with companies and institutes to make documentaries, films and videos to attract more attention in society to the need to protect the pandas.

Sichuan, the ancient home of the giant panda, has developed many locations that allow people to get up close and personal with pandas.

Wolong National Nature Reserve, about 130 kilometers from Chengdu, is the largest protected zone in Sichuan in terms of area and the most complex in terms of natural conditions.

It also tops the list in terms of the varieties of precious plants and animals. Designated an International Biosphere Preserve by the United Nations, the reserve is home to more than 100 giant pandas.

It has built a giant panda research center and observation stations which allow experts to monitor pandas in the wild. It also has a large-scale giant panda breeding center. In addition, it has built a pioneering panda-themed museum in China.

Apart from the reserve, a giant panda disease control and rescue center in Dujiangyan in Chengdu is also contributing to their protection. The center, which covers 51 hectares, is the result of a total investment of 230 million yuan ($36.7 million; 29.6 million euros; ￡25.8 million).

The Dujiangyan center has become one of three demonstration platforms in Chengdu that are committed to of - site conservation as well as in situ preservation.

Baoxing county of Yaan in Sichuan, where the first wild panda in the world was spotted, has to date made huge investments to become a panda-themed tourism city. When completed, the investment is expected to total around 1.6 billion yuan.

Officials say that pandas from Baoxing also serve to play a wider role, making a significant contribution to promoting friendship between China and the rest of the world.