In June 1980, with the collaborative endeavor of the Chinese government and the World Wide Fund for Nature, the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda was established in the Wolong National Natural Reserve. It is located in Hetaoping at an altitude of 1920 meters. It is a quiet, beautiful place with an average temperature of 12^oC through out the year. It has abundant rainfall, moist atmosphere, and comfortable temperature either in winter or in summer, and therefore, an ideal place for the reproduction of the giant panda.

The task of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda is to increase the population of the giant panda by focusing on reproduction, fundamental and application researches. Through comprehensive researches on the reproduction, breeding, and disease treatment of the giant panda, methods and principles are taken out to direct the diet, nutrition, breeding, artificial fertilization, sperm analysis, caring of pregnant giant pandas, raising of young panda cubs, treating of disease in the practice of giant panda breeding. The final goal of the center is to reintroduce manually-bred giant pandas to Nature and thereby save this endangered species.

After many years' hard working, the center has made great achievements in the field of giant panda research and become influential in the world. When it was first established, there were only six sick giant pandas rescued from the wild; but now, it has 74 giant pandas, which is the largest manually-bred giant panda group in the world. Its cooperation with countries like United States, Japan, and Austria also helps in pushing it on the world stage.

In the past over two decades, the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in the Wolong Natural Reserve has done a lot of research with international cooperation, and good results have been taken out.

An introduction to the Scientific Research on Giant Pandas
Institutions and Staff of the Research Center