Source: Gaotai Xingnan Gas Station
Speaking of giant pandas, many people think of "Chengdu, Sichuan".
Yes, Chengdu has the largest giant panda breeding base in China and even the world, attracting bustling tourists from all over the world.
However, how many people know that in Foping, Hanzhong under the foot of Qinling , there is also a quiet and elegant "Panda Valley". In addition to being the place with the highest density of giant pandas in the world, there is also the only "brown panda" seen in the world -
. The reason why many people don't know is that Foping "Panda Valley" was opened in 2009 and covers an area of 22 acres. The scenic area is full of panda traces, and there are also many panda sculptures. If you observe carefully, you will find that each of them is basically different. On a panda cliff, more than 400 round river stones are spliced into a huge panda avatar.
Foping Panda Valley Scenic Area is located next to National Highway 108 20 kilometers north of Foping County, Shaanxi Province. Located in the Qinling Giant Panda Corridor Zone and Guanyin Mountain Nature Reserve, it has extremely rich resources of rare wildlife and plant resources. The scenic area has mountains and ridges, clear streams, strange stones, lush trees, and gathering of flowers. Sometimes the blue pond reflects the stones, sometimes the waterfalls fall snow, sometimes the cliffs stand steeply, and sometimes the winding paths lead to secluded. The birds sing in the stream and make people feel relaxed and happy. Attractions such as Sandipai Spring, Erlong Playing with Pearls, Daughter Beach, Shuangxin Pond, etc. are naturally made of magical skills such as Sansaint Peak, Mother and Daughter Peak, and Qiyun Peak. In the Qinling giant panda, the pandas are cute in the wild base; in the Golden Monkey Grand Canyon, the group of golden monkeys hiking on the branches; red-bellied golden pheasant in the garden, etc. pheasant beautiful and stunning. The scenic area combines the secluded, quiet, beautiful, strange and rare animals and plants of the Qinling Mountains and rivers. The "Window of the Qinling Mountains and Panda Home" is well-known as the best place for outings, leisure, summer vacation, health preservation, photography and entertainment.
How was Panda Valley in Foping established? There is also a very interesting story here.
It is understood that giant pandas have reproduced and lived in Foping since ancient times. People call giant pandas "flower bears" because their fur color is black and white and their bodies resemble bears. When the country did not list giant pandas as protected animals, folk hunters often use giant pandas as hunting targets, and giant panda skins are often visible. Giant pandas sometimes flee into the houses, and the people are not surprised.
Giant panda is found in ancient books and has various names, such as Pixiu , turtle, iron-eating beast, black and white bear, white black, white leopard, etc. Western Han Sima Xiangru recorded in " Shanglin Fu ", which recorded that nearly 40 kinds of rare birds and beasts were raised in the imperial garden of Chang'an, the capital, among which giant pandas were highly valued. After the death of Empress Dowager Bo, the mother of Emperor Wen of Han, died, there were giant pandas among the objects buried in Nanling . Emperor Taizong of Tang once held a banquet at Chang'an , and presented a giant panda skin to each of the 14 heroes at the banquet. Wu Zetian once presented two live pandas to Japan as a friendly expression of the two countries (see Hu Jinchu's book "The Wolong Giant Panda"). Because the Qinling Mountains are close to Chang'an, the giant pandas in these records are highly likely to be a giant panda in the Qinling Mountains.
According to Jiaqing "Continued Revision of Hannan County Chronicles·Resources", Hanzhong has "Leopard", and the following quotes are the poem "Book of Songs·Daya·Han Yi": "Red Leopard and Yellow Beast". The interpretation of "leopard" is: "The hair is red and the text is black, and the text is black is white and the text is black is white" (quoted by Kong Yingda's "Kong Shu" in the Tang Dynasty); "The leopard is like a bear but small, with shallow hair, shiny, able to eat snakes, and eat copper and iron" (quoted by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty's "Book of Songs").
The zoological community discovered and recorded the Qinling giant panda, which began in the first half of the 20th century. In the 21st year of the Republic of China (1932), the zoological community speculated that the distribution of giant pandas was south of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi and east of Tibet to northern Yunnan.From 1958 to 1960, teachers and students from the Department of Biology of Northwest University and the Department of Biology of Beijing Normal University successively obtained giant panda skins and skulls in Chaijiaguan, Ningshan, adjacent to Foping County, and Yueba, Foping County; in 1963, the Shaanxi Provincial Qinling Biological Resources Expedition Team found giant panda distribution in Maoping, Yangxian County, Taibai County, and other places; in 1973, the Shaanxi Provincial Biological Expedition Team obtained 8 giant panda skins and two skulls in Longtan, Sanguanmiao, Dachengmo, and Xiaonanping, Changjiaoba Commune. From March to May 1974, the Shaanxi Provincial Revolutionary Committee organized a census on precious animal resources in five Qinling counties (Foping, Yangxian , week to , Ningshan , Taibai ) in Qinling. According to the census results, Foping County is the central area for the distribution of giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains, with the largest number and the largest density. During the inspection, some giant panda specimens were obtained in Foping County.
964, Peking University Zheng Guangmei and Xu Pingyu officially published the article "The Giant Pandas Discovered on the Southern Footsteps of the Qinling Mountains", and publicly reported the discovery of giant pandas in southern Shaanxi for the first time; afterwards, with the subsequent reports of some discoveries and investigation results, giant pandas in Foping County began to attract attention from the world.
However, before 1971, Foping County had no institutions for rare animals such as giant pandas. Since 1971, this work has been managed by the County Forestry Deputy Bureau (later renamed the County Forestry Bureau).
By 1978, it was declared by the Foping County People's Government and approved by the State Council in 1979. Foping Giant Panda Reserve was officially established and is a national protected area. The main task is to protect the ecological environment within the giant panda activity area (Yueba area) and protect rare animals such as giant pandas; in 1983, the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government and the Hanzhong Regional Administrative Office successively established leading groups for the rescue and protection of rare animals such as giant pandas. After the 1990s, the protection and breeding of giant pandas in Foping was handed over to Hanzhong City .
After nearly 30 years of hard work, the number of giant pandas in Foping has rebounded significantly. Therefore, in 2009, the "Panda Valley" scenic spot, which promotes protection through commercial and tourism development, was officially opened to the public.
There are not only giant pandas in the Panda Valley, but also wild golden monkeys, one of the "Four Treasures" of the Qinling Mountains. The golden monkey has distinct hair and smart and light movements. There are more than 100 golden monkeys living in the valley. Most of them are not afraid of tourists. They are gentle in character. Sometimes they will take the initiative to get close to tourists and ask for some food. However, they are not as naughty as the monkeys in Mount Emei. However, in order to protect the golden monkey's body, they should not feed them at will.
Golden Monkey Canyon Walking backwards, there is the Red-bellied Golden Phoenix Garden, where the Red-bellied Golden Phoenix lives. This is the national second-class protected animal . The chicken body is bright and the colors are bright, which is quite energetic. At the entrance of Panda Valley, there is a panda science museum used to popularize panda knowledge. Opposite to the Panda Homeland is a panda children's camp. There are many entertainment items, which is very suitable for children to play, and it is not very boring.
Foping Panda Valley integrates protection, scientific research and tourism. It is a concentrated display of Qinling scenery. When you come to Foping, don’t forget to go to Panda Valley and share the natural landscape with giant pandas, golden monkeys, and red pheasants.
