Wild panda encounters drive ecotourism boom in SW China's Sichuan
Source:(People's Daily Online) 16:01, February 06, 2025
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A keeper holds a panda cub at a Spring Festival celebration event at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding)
Panda-focused ecotourism is drawing visitors to southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Giant Panda National Park emerging as popular destinations since 2024.
The research base in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, draws crowds of visitors interested in panda behavior. Wang Donghui, a researcher from the Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology for Endangered Wildlife, said educational displays show visitors how pandas behave, breed and interact.
The chance to photograph wild pandas, along with the discovery of new plant species in the Wolong area of the Giant Panda National Park, has drawn increasing visitors in recent years.
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A panda cub makes its public debut during Spring Festival celebrations at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding)
A new monitoring system allows guests to track wild pandas on large real-time display screens. The technology combines local networks, ultra-short wave transmission and advanced giant panda facial recognition technology to stream live images from the wild.
During the Spring Festival, visitors participated in night patrols to learn about scientific research at the Giant Panda National Park. In the Laba River area, they joined park staff on nighttime rounds to identify plant species and maintain wildlife cameras in the field.
Protecting giant pandas has far-reaching benefits for the entire ecosystem at the national park. "By protecting them, we can also safeguard the habitat and well-being of other species in the area," said patroller Luo Chunping, who explained that the lush forests where giant pandas live support a diverse range of wildlife.
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