MORE THAN PANDAS

China's panda protection has come a long way, as the country has begun establishing giant panda nature reserves since the 1960s. Thanks to sustained conservation efforts, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded the giant panda's status from endangered to vulnerable in 2016. Currently, nearly 1,900 giant pandas are living in the wild in China.

The establishment of the Giant Panda National Park is part of China's effort to develop the world's largest national park system, a major step toward promoting ecological civilization. In its recent recommendations for formulating China's 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2026-2030), the Communist Party of China's leadership vows to further develop the national park-based system of protected areas and establish more national parks in a well-ordered manner.

The Giant Panda National Park protects approximately 1,340 wild giant pandas and also serves as a sanctuary for over 8,000 other rare and sympatric species, including the golden snub-nosed monkey, snow leopard, dove tree and Chinese yew. Experts explain that, as a flagship species, the giant panda exerts an "umbrella effect," safeguarding the countless other species that share its habitat.

In the Niba Mountain Corridor of Ya'an, Sichuan, infrared cameras have captured various animals, including Tibetan macaques, Chinese serows, tufted deer and Temminck's tragopans, all of which benefit from the restoration of fragmented panda habitats.

In the Wolong area of the national park, snow leopards typically roam at altitudes between 4,000 and 5,700 meters. In comparison, giant pandas inhabit areas below 3,500 meters, living as neighbors in shared vertical space.

In the Gansu and Shaanxi sections of the park, the areas where giant pandas reside also serve as primary habitats for golden snub-nosed monkeys and takins.

For forest rangers such as Shen Yuanping, their patrols have become more comprehensive. "I now monitor both the pandas and their companion species, while also keeping an eye on high-altitude wildlife like the snow leopard and alpine plants," he said.

At the Global Panda Partners Conference 2025, Erastus Mwencha, former deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, said China's efforts in protecting giant pandas have been "one of the world's greatest conservation success stories."

"The story of the giant panda gives us hope. It teaches us that with care, persistence and cooperation, we can heal the planet we share," he added.