Sichuan Province has listed its giant panda habitat as China's only candidate up for World Heritage Site status next year.

The decision to include the site in the exclusive list will be made at the 2006 World Heritage Conference.

Meanwhile, Sichuan Province is striving to improve the environment surrounding the habitat.

The giant panda is a unique and precious animal species living mostly in Sichuan Province. At present, there are approximately 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild, dispersed mainly in the Wolong area, Siguniang Mountain and Jiajinshan Mountain.

The giant panda habitat was chosen over 10 other candidates to become the only Chinese applicant for World Heritage Site Status in 2006.

Winning the bid will contribute to the improvement of the local ecological environment and the protection of giant pandas, the ¡°national treasure¡± of China.

(CRI.com March 30, 2005)