Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
Encyclopedia
The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries located in southwest Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, is the home to more than 30% of the world's highly endangered Giant Panda
Giant Panda
The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...

s and is among the most important sites for the captive breeding of these pandas. It covers 9245 km² with seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai
Qionglai Mountains
Qionglai Mountains is a mountain range in the Sichuan Province of China. It runs in the general north-south direction, and is located mostly within the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the north-central part of the province....

 and Jiajin Mountains. Along with the Giant Panda, the sanctuary is a refuge to other endangered species such as the red panda
Red Panda
The red panda , is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs...

, the snow leopard
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...

, and the clouded leopard
Clouded Leopard
The clouded leopard is a felid found from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia into China, and has been classified as vulnerable in 2008 by IUCN...

. Outside of the tropical rainforests, it is among the botanically richest sites of the world, and is home to between 5,000 and 6,000 species of flora. It has been noted that the region is similar to the paleo-tropic forests of the Tertiary Era
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...

.

The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries consist of seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks.
  • Seven Nature Reserves
    • Wolong Nature Reserve
      Wolong National Nature Reserve
      Wolong National Nature Reserve is a protected area located in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Established in 1963, the reserve covers an area of about 200,000 hectares in the Qionglai Mountains region. There are over 4,000 different species recorded in the reserve....

       
    • Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve
    • Mt. Siguniang Nature Reserve
    • Laba River Nature Reserve
    • Heishui River Nature Reserve
    • Jintang-Kongyu Nature Reserve
    • Caopo Nature Reserve

  • Nine Scenic Parks
    • Mt. Qingcheng
      Mount Qingcheng
      Mount Qingcheng is a mountain in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China. It is amongst the most important centres of Taoism in China. In Taoism mythology, it was the site of the Yellow Emperor's studies with Ning Fengzhi. As a centre of the Daoist religion it became host to many temples. The mountain has 36...

      -Dujiangyan Scenic Park
      Dujiangyan Irrigation System
      Dujiangyan is an irrigation infrastructure built in 256 BC during the Warring States Period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. It is located in the Min River in Sichuan province, China, near the capital Chengdu. It is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region...

    • Mt. Tiantai Scenic Park
    • Mt. Siguniang Scenic Park
    • Xiling Snow Mountain Scenic Park
    • Mt. Jiguan-Jiulonggou Scenic Park
    • Mt. Jiajin Scenic Park
    • Miyaluo Scenic Park
    • Mt. Lingzhen-Mt. Daxue Scenic Park
    • Mt. Erlang Scenic Park

External links

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