CHENGDU – Visitors to the capital city of south-west China’s Sichuan Province will one day have the opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the world’s most endangered species at the world’s first panda town.
The two square kilometre project will be part of the planned 30-sqkm Chengdu Giant Panda International Ecological Tourism Resort, said Yang Feifei, an official with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
In addition to the panda town, the Chengdu Giant Panda International Ecological Tourism Resort, will consist of a 100-hectare giant panda ecological park and a semi-wild giant panda breeding area.
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is home to 62 of the world’s 1,590 pandas. Covering about 33 hectares, the base is devoted mainly to giant panda breeding and research.
But the ecological park to be built is aimed at boosting tourism, said Huang Qiang, chief of the marketing department of the Chengdu Cultural Tourism Group.
A gigantic maternity ward for pandas is being built. It will consist of panda dens, an indoor shelter area, an observation area for visitors and delivery rooms for the pandas.
