The famous Wolong Nature Reserve of China is located in the Wenchuan County of Sichuan
Province, and covers an area of 200 thousand hectares. It is best known for its
efforts to protect and reproduce the endangered giant panda. Wolong National
Nature Reserve has become China's largest and certainly the most important
sanctuary for giant pandas and other rare and precious animals and plants.
Primitive forest and original ecosystem of Wolong are well preserved, and therefore
the Reserve is a rare natural park. The subtropical damp climate provides
favorable conditions for forest and vegetation to grow. The reserve lies on the
transition zone between Quinghai, the Tibetan Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,
hosting over 4,000 species of plants, 50 mammal varieties, 300 bird species and
29 rare and endangered species including the giant panda and the lesser panda,
which is also known as the red panda or small panda, and snow leopards.
The Wolong Nature Reserve has been home to the panda breeding centre ever since it was established by the Chinese government in the 1980's . The Wolong reserve contains 10% of the world's panda population where 1600 of these bears remain in the wild and the breeding centre is key to the hopes of keeping the species alive. The main goal of the breeding centre is to breed the animals and then release them out into the wild, it also plays a important role in rescuing injured animals. The Wolong reserve has received considerable financial support from the Chinese government and international organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund.
The Wolong Nature Reserve (China) is also a popular teaching academy where students come from all around the world to learn the various breeding techniques and practices. The area also consists of a wide variety of unique flowers and plants. A wide variety of azalea have been found here , in the autumn season mountains and forests are decorated with flowers and leaves of different colors. Due to the large variety of flowers and plants, several species of birds are also drawn to the place, making it a favorite place of the bird watchers.
