Wolong National Nature Reserve
Wolong National Nature Reserve (卧龙国家级自然保护区), also officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region (四川省汶川卧龙特别行政区), is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China.
| Wolong National Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Wolong Special Administrative Region | |
Panda cub at the panda breeding centre of Wolong Nature Reserve | |
| Location | Wenchuan County, Sichuan |
| Nearest city | Chengdu |
| Coordinates | 31.02°N 103.10°E |
| Area | c. 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) |
| Established | 1963 |
| wolongpanda.com.cn | |
Established in 1963 with an initial size of about 20,000 ha (49,000 acres), the reserve was further expanded in 1975, covering an area of about 200,000 ha (490,000 acres) in the Qionglai Mountains region. It hosts over 4,000 species. According to China's Third National Giant Panda Survey, Wolong National Nature Reserve houses about 150 wild giant pandas. The reserve is also a home to many other endangered species including snow leopards, red pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, white-lipped deer and many plants. Before the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Wolong received up to 200,000 visitors every year.
As one of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, Wolong National Nature Reserve has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.