Chengdu will make greater efforts to protect the giant panda and develop itself into?the best?international destination for visiting the rare animal, according to a meeting on a work plan regarding the establishment of a global destination for pandas.

Tang Liangzhi, Chengdu's Party chief, called for unified efforts to strengthen protection for the panda, and said the city needs to enhance its core capacity in research and conservation of the endangered species.

More will be done to promote the development of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Dujiangyan Panda Valley.

As of Nov. 1, 2016, the number of capative pandas in the world reached 471, of which 176 are raised at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, topping the world.

Chengdu, home of the giant panda, will take the opportunity of developing the panda national park to better protect the ecology of Longmen mountain ranges, said Yang Xiaoguang, director of Chengdu Municipal Forestry and Landscape Administration Bureau.

Chengdu has applied to develop a giant panda national park which will span across the three provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu to cover an area of around 1,616 square kilometers. The park will involve four cities in Chengdu, including?Dujiangyan, Chongzhou, Dayi?and Pengzhou.

The park, located at the Longmenshan mountain ranges, will mainly include four nature reserves--Longxi-Hongkou, Heishui River, Baishui River and Anzi River. The connecting areas, including the Panda Valley in Dujiangyan, will cover more than 500 suqare kilometers.