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New plans for tourists to get up close and personal with pandas

By Li You | China Daily USA | Updated: 2017-10-23 08:44

Program allows visitors to interact with rare species in VR 'paradise'

Giant panda fans will soon be able to get up close and personal with the rare animal in a cutting-edge way, as the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province finalizes plans to provide visitors with a virtual reality panda-themed show next year.

To equip the center with VR technology facilities, the center signed a contract with a high-tech company in Beijing in July and kicked off construction of the first VR panda "paradise" in China.

 

Clockwise from top: Qingcheng Mountain, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, is a Taoism shrine in Chengdu. He Bo / For China Daily; Delegates to the 22nd General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, which was held in Chengdu in September, show interest in local craftsmanship. Zhang Qingqing / For China Daily; A group of Hollywood filmmakers imitate signature gestures of major roles in the animated comedy film Kung Fu Panda at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province. Provided to China Daily; Chengdu is famed as home of giant pandas. Provided to China Daily

In the new panda facility, there will be graphic representations and high resolution depictions of pandas within their bamboo forests.

When visitors put on VR glasses, it will appear compellingly real. People will be able to "feel and hold" the virtual pandas as they would in real life, according to Chen Cheng, an information officer at the center.

Visitors can also immerse themselves in the videos, broadcasts or games in the cinema or entertainment center.

By the end of 2016, the Chengdu base was home to 176 pandas. Around 4 million visitors come to the center to watch pandas each year, according to Zhang Zhihe, the head of the center.

"The center has become the best destination worldwide for people to enjoy and learn about pandas," Zhang said

Another panda center in Sichuan is located in Dujiangyan, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site.

In July, the local Dujiangyan government signed a contract with Sichuan Provincial Investment Group to build a new Dujiangyan panda international ecological theme resort, involving an investment of 20.8 billion yuan ($3.16 billion).

The project will feature a "Panda Valley", a panda theme park and a panda-themed health preservation and rehabilitation resort town.

The Panda Valley, featuring pandas in their natural habitat, will initiate the study of the wild breeding of pandas previously in captivity.

The Dujiangyan project has as its mission the goal of creating a panda industrial cluster.

The Dujiangyan center is located in an international eco-tourism region for pandas in Sichuan.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), Sichuan will continue to construct tourist routes, to connect the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Panda Valley in Dujiangyan and other sightseeing resorts including Wolong, Baoxing, Siguniang Mountain and Ya'an Bifeng Gorge.

However, there is much more to Sichuan than its pandas.

Huanglong, a scenic spot known for its colorful pools formed by calcite deposits, Emei Mountain, described as "beauty under heaven", and Sanxingdui Ruins, where some 10,000 relics dating back 3,000-5,000 years have been unearthed, are popular tourist destinations among Sichuan's more than 4,000 tourism attractions.

Since the Sichuan government decided in 2013 to build the province into a magnet for tourism and a worldwide renowned tourist destination, the annual increase in the value of the tourism economy has remained above 20 percent.

Last year, the province's tourism income reached 770.5 billion yuan. About 630 million tourists visited Sichuan, roughly equivalent to the total number of visitors to Europe during the same time period.

In the first six months of this year, the total tourism revenue of Sichuan reached 458.18 billion yuan, an increase of 19.3 percent year-on-year.

A total of 1.33 million international tourists visited Sichuan, an increase of 11.5 percent year-on-year.

"In recent years, Sichuan has made great achievements in its tourism industry, especially in infrastructure construction," said Fu Yonglin, director of the Sichuan Commission of Tourism.

"At present, the tourism industry has become one of the pillar sectors in Sichuan."

To attract tourists from around the world, Sichuan is moving to spread its fame abroad.

This year's "panda going around world" activity, held from March to November, has been carrying out a series of marketing activities to promote Sichuan tourism in countries such as Australia, the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

liyou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 10/23/2017 page11)

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