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 | Saturday, April 22, 2000, updated at 12:13(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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New Giant Panda Habitat to Be Built in Northwest ChinaFoping County, known as the " wildlife kingdom in northwest China's Shaanxi Province," will spend 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) to build a new habitat for giant pandas.The money will go toward construction of a 2,000-hectare forest belt where giant pandas can live, play and find their favorite food -- arrow bamboo. Wildlife centers will be set up in 11 townships to protect this rare species and conduct scientific studies on pandas. Thanks to protective measures taken in recent years, the number of giant pandas in the county has grown to over 100. Foping County, located on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountain which is covered with dense forest, has 433 kinds of wild animals, including 11 species under top state protection. The county was opened to foreigners in late 1990s. Last year, it signed a contract with the city of San Diego in the US state of California on jointly studies of giant pandas. The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species, with an estimated 1,000 living in the mountainous regions of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. To protect the animal, dubbed China's "national treasure", the country has set up 33 nature reserves, covering a total area of 1.6 million hectares.
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