The Qinling Mountains, which runs from west to east in the central part of China and is mainly located in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, covers more than 50,000 square kilometers.

Chinese government attaches great importance to the construction of an ecological environment in the area, and has set up many special nature reserves for giant pandas, known as the "state treasure," ibises, golden monkeys and antelopes.

In Foping County Nature Reserve, pandas are getting along with villagers. Once a panda is ill, she will go to residents for help.

Sources with the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Bureau said that two pandas suffered ill have recovered and returned to forests after 20 days' care of the villagers.

Li Huanfang, an expert of rare animals, said that the nature reserves cover 203,500 hectares in area, or takes up 4.1 percent of Qinling Mountains' total area.

However, the nature reserves have more than 3,000 kinds of rare plants, accounting for 80 percent of Qinling Mountains' total, Li added.

He said the construction of nature reserves and adoption of a series of protection measures have saved many endangered animal species.

Statistics provided by animal protection departments of Shaanxi Province show that the number of ibises have increased to 270 from seven when they were first found in Yangxian County in 1981.

Experts estimated that there are some 200 giant pandas, or one-fifth of China's total, 4,500 antelopes and more than 5,000 golden monkeys in the Qinling Mountains.

Shaanxi plans to build four to five more nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains in the coming years to provide a sound living environment for wild animals.

(People’s Daily 11/09/2000)