China promoted efforts to develop national parks and protect natural ecosystems on Tuesday with the launch of a media tour in Baoxing county in Southwest China's Sichuan province, according to China Daily.
The media tour, organized by government agencies including the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, will bring journalists to the five national parks that were officially established in 2021 — Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park and Wuyishan National Park.
In total, the parks have a protected land area of 230,000 square kilometers and are home to nearly 30 percent of China's key terrestrial wildlife species.
Tuesday's launch ceremony was held in Ya'an city's Baoxing county, which is located in the heart of the Giant Panda National Park. Totaling 22,000 sq km, the park spans the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. Sichuan province alone accounts for 88 percent of the park's area and is home to more than 1,200 wild giant pandas, or 92 percent of the total wild panda population across the park.
Park authorities have stepped up population monitoring of giant pandas in key areas covering 286,800 hectares, recording 1,558 trace points.
At the same time, the park has stepped up construction of ecological corridors, restoring a total of 26.56 sq km of habitat and establishing 0.37 sq km of new staple bamboo base.
In addition, an intelligent and comprehensive environmental monitoring system has been set up and more than 5,600 new infrared cameras have been installed, which have so far captured more than 1,900 images of wild pandas.
According to authorities, more than 8,000 rare species, including giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and snow leopards are now well protected, with wild populations steadily increasing across the park.
