The China Giant Panda is known and cherished around the world. The panda, one of the most rare and beloved animals in the world, is threatened with extinction - only about 1,000 pandas live in the wild. Although historically pandas were found throughout much of China and in Burma and Laos, today all of the wild pandas in the world live in six isolated forest areas in central China.
As early as 1869, a French Christian preacher, David, come to Fengtongzhai founded the church and firstly show panda to the world. The mountain and stream in there is beautiful here, bamboo grow in luxuriantly green. It is a sweet home for panda dwell in. And the most regional people are catholic adherent. So if you are Christian and love panda, love nature, come to Fengtongzhai. May be the panda in there known English, because they are always listen the Christian carols from the church.
Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve,established in 1975. In mountains & valley area of 39000 hectares reserved, located at Baoxing county, between east longitude of 102‘8‘‘ 102‘7‘‘and north latitude of 30?9? 30?0? total animals about 380 species, 395 kinds of plants in this area. There are 7 conservative portions in this reserve. about 250Km from Chengdu. Now there are 4 captive giant pandas. In it‘s history, the Preserve has ever treated and cured 23 giant pandas, and 20 of them alive. For these pandas, 12 of them sent to other places (country) as gift by China Government, 8 of them placed back to wild condition (their real family).
Baoxing County, in southwestern Sichuan Province, plans to spend 180 million yuan (US$21.8 million) to build a giant panda protection and tourism zone. With a designated area of 1,200 square kilometers, the Baoxing Jiajin Mountain Giant Panda Ecological Tourism Zone will comprise the state-level Fengtongzhai giant panda nature reserve, a safari park, a station for panda observation and a state forest park.
The local people have since learned to protect giant pandas and take care of animals whenever they are in need. In the early 1980s bamboos bloomed in the several habitats in Sichuan province. Many villagers of Baoxing county chipped in to help starving giant pandas survive. One family living in a village called "Happy Valley" even "adopted" starving giant pandas and fed them candied rice porridge.
An official of the nature reserve said that expansion of protection zones would play a vital role in avoiding inbreeding and helping increase the number of the rare creatures. The world‘s first giant panda was discovered in Baoxing in 1869. Currently, more than 140 giant pandas live in the Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve, accounting for more than 10 percent of the national total. The official said that Baoxing had invested more than 2.5 million yuan in building a nature reserve for pandas, which covers 400 sq km. Meanwhile in the provincial capital of Chengdu, Xiongbang, the world‘s first panda born in winter, looked robust and comfy as it greeted visitors at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center. Forty-two giant pandas now live in the research center, the only professional giant panda research institute in China. Located in the northern outskirts of Chengdu, the center was established in 1987 to mimic the natural living environment of wild pandas. With a history dating back to the dinosaur era, pandas are on the verge of extinction. There are only approximately 1,590 pandas worldwide, mainly distributed in China‘s Sichuan and Shanxi provinces, and 160 live in captivity. The central and provincial governments have invested 160 million yuan into panda protection programs since 1992.
The local people have since learned to protect giant pandas and take care of animals whenever they are in need. In the early 1980s bamboos bloomed in the several habitats in Sichuan province. Many villagers of Baoxing county chipped in to help starving giant pandas survive. One family living in a village called "Happy Valley" even "adopted" starving giant pandas and fed them candied rice porridge.
An official of the nature reserve said that expansion of protection zones would play a vital role in avoiding inbreeding and helping increase the number of the rare creatures.