This Day, That Year

Editor’s Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.

Established in 1963, the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province was among the first to protect endangered species such as wild pandas.

The plight of the giant panda in the 1980s made headlines, as seen in the photo on the right.

In 1987, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was set up in Sichuan. It has 184 pandas, the world’s biggest captive breeding population.

Thanks to the country’s efforts in panda breeding and protection, it was estimated that there were 1,864 wild pandas and 375 captive pandas worldwide as of the end of 2013, according to the country’s fourth panda census.

More than 80 percent of the world’s wild pandas live in Sichuan, with the rest in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, according to the Sichuan Forestry Department.

To further protect the species, a giant panda national park will be built, covering 27,134 square kilometers and spanning parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. It will be three times the size of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

Researchers said the new park is expected to help wild pandas isolated on six mountains across the three provinces to mingle and strengthen their gene pool.

MARCH 21-22