The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding was given a big gift on August 30, 2002 by a group of people from America, including Dr. Joel J. Parrott, director of the Oakland Zoo in the United States, and three professors from the US Davis College. The two sides have signed an agreement under which the US side is committed to donating 2.4 million yuan (US$289,855) to China's major fundamental research projects in the fields of breeding and protective genetics of giant pandas. This is the largest ever donation to scientific research projects related to protecting giant pandas, according to People's Daily.

According to leading officials, in the past 20 years, the protective unit represented by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has solved several major scientific and technological problems such as giant panda breeding by artificial insemination using frozen semen, breeding of panda twins, prevention of hemorrhagic enteritis, and the DNA fingerprinting of giant pandas. The original six giant pandas that were ill and hungry when rescued from the wild have now developed into a group of 39. The Chengdu base, in fact, has produced more giant pandas than any other protective research unit in the world, in the process gaining the most scientific and technological achievements.

However, how to prevent the in-breeding of giant pandas and promote viability while increasing numbers still remains a major problem. In order to realize the release of giant pandas back to the wild and the long-term conservation of the population, the research on giant pandas preservation must stride from an individual to a molecular standard.

The fundamental research project of giant pandas needs 4.8 million yuan (US$579,710) urgently, of which 2 million yuan (US$241,545) is available from the state. The Oakland Zoo, having learnt of the situation via the Returned Overseas Chinese Federation, gladly consented to donate the remaining 2.4 million yuan (US$289,855).

(china.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, September 6, 2002)