According to Xinhua News Agency on Saturday, a new giant panda museum, the biggest of its kind, is being planned to help efforts to save the endangered animal and its habitat.

The main theme of the 5,000 square meter (53,800 square foot) museum in Chengdu, capital of the southwest province of Sichuan, will be "people, pandas and the harmony of nature."

Designs for the museum from China, the US and France are going through the final stages of decision making, but there were no details of costs or a specific completion date.

Early reports said the museum would be part of a 700-800 million yuan (US$84-96 million) Giant Panda Eco Park and Tourist Area which is expected to be open to the public by May 2006.

Despite intensive efforts to promote breeding in the notoriously undersexed animal, there are only about 1,590 of the endangered species living in the wild, all in China. Another 161 have been raised in captivity.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)