Wolong National Nature Reserve

Wolong National Nature Reserve
Wolong Special Administrative Region
Panda cub at the panda breeding centre of Wolong Nature Reserve
Map showing the location of Wolong National Nature Reserve
Map showing the location of Wolong National Nature Reserve
LocationWenchuan County, Sichuan
Nearest cityChengdu
Coordinates31°01′N 103°06′E / 31.02°N 103.10°E / 31.02; 103.10[1]
Areac. 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi)
Established1963
wolongpanda.com.cn
Wolong National Nature Reserve
Simplified Chinese卧龙国家级自然保护区
Traditional Chinese臥龍國家級自然保護區
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWòlóng Guójiā Jí Zìrán Bǎohù Qū
Wolong Special Administrative Region
Simplified Chinese四川省汶川卧龙特别行政区
Traditional Chinese四川省汶川臥龍特別行政區
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSìchuān Shěng Wènchuān Wòlóng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū

Wolong National Nature Reserve (from Chinese 卧龙; wòlóng; 'crouching dragon'), officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region, is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China.

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.[2] 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.[3][4]

As one of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, Wolong National Nature Reserve has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006.[5] The reserve became part of the Giant Panda National Park in 2020.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Shaumari Wildlife Reserve". protectedplanet.net.
  2. ^ "About Wolong". Wolong National Natural Reserve. 2005. Archived from the original on December 1, 2006.
  3. ^ Liu, Wei; Vogt, Christine A.; Luo, Junyan; He, Guangming; Frank, Kenneth A.; Liu, Jianguo (2012). "Drivers and Socioeconomic Impacts of Tourism Participation in Protected Areas". PLoS One. 7 (4): e35420. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...735420L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035420. PMC 3338832. PMID 22558149.
  4. ^ Liu, Wei; Vogt, Christine A.; Lupi, Frank; He, Guangming; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Liu, Jianguo (2016). "Evolution of tourism in a flagship protected area of China" (PDF). Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 24 (2): 203–226. doi:10.1080/09669582.2015.1071380. S2CID 18860031.
  5. ^ "Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries – Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved April 10, 2021.