China's latest giant panda base opens to public, blending tech with conservation

CHENGDU -- A new giant panda base aimed at bolstering breeding, research and international communication on Monday opened to the public on a trial basis in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Covering an area of about 120 hectares, the Mianyang base is the fifth site of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. It received nearly 6,300 tourists on its first public day, according to the base.

Alongside China's continuous efforts to preserve biodiversity, the base began operations in early November and now houses 20 giant pandas, spanning subadults to elderly individuals. All 20 have successfully adapted and are in good condition, the base said.

With a rich landscape of valleys surrounded by mountains, the base has imitated a wild habitat and built artificial facilities for its giant pandas. A total of 54 enclosures serve differentiated functions, including breeding, cub rearing, adult display and disease control.

The base also features smart technology, with enclosures utilizing intelligent safety warning, temperature control and humidity control systems, as well as a light disinfection system to improve immunity.

Known as the home of giant pandas, Sichuan has the largest panda habitat in the world and is home to over 70 percent of China's wild giant panda population, with the number in Mianyang ranking the highest among the country's prefecture-level cities.

Giant panda conservation is a microcosm of China's efforts to advance ecological civilization. Thanks to sustained conservation efforts, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded the giant panda's status from endangered to vulnerable in 2016. Currently, nearly 1,900 giant pandas are living in the wild in China.