World Natural Heritage: Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries

Date of Inscription:2006

Chinese name: Si Chuan Da Xiong Mao Qi Xi Di

English name: Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries

Based on the standards C(II)(III)(IV)(VI) for selecting world cultural heritage, the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries was listed in the World Heritage List.

The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries is mainly located between the Dadu River and Mount Min, in the Qionglai Mountains between the Chengdu Plains and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is 180 kilometers long from south to north and 40 to 70 kilometers wide from east to west. It contains four cities and prefectures, and 12 counties including Chengdu, Ya’an, Aba and Ganzi. It also includes nine scenic spots and eight nature reserves that cover an area of 9,510 square kilometers. Its core area, covering an area of 5,370 square kilometers, includes the Wolong Nature Reserve, Siguniang Mountain and the Jiajin Mountain of the Qionglai Mountains. More than 30 percent of wild giant pandas currently live in this area and it has become the world’s largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda.

Assessment of the World Heritage Committee

The giant panda is China’s national treasure and also the symbol and "flagship" species of global nature conservation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries is the typical region for the research of earth history and geological features, the typical region of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, plant and animal evolution, the concentrated region of natural landscapes and aesthetic landscapes, as well as the global typical representative of biological diversity and endemic species habitats.