Natural wealth and business savvy helps Chengdu shine

City is a heavy hitter on world stage thanks to iconic wildlife and bustling economy

Giant panda, one of the best-known symbols of Chinese culture worldwide, is a powerful ambassador for Chengdu. The Hollywood movie series Kung Fu Panda selected Chengdu as the backdrop to film distinct local elements and the panda character, Po, has become a DreamWorks icon.

Sichuan province in Southwest China is home to giant pandas. According to the country's fourth giant panda survey, there were 1,387 wild pandas in Sichuan, accounting for 74.4 percent of the country's total. The provincial capital, Chengdu, with a permanent population of more than 21 million and an area of about 14,335 square kilometers, is a metropolis that boasts both captive and wild pandas.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which is located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, houses more than 230 giant pandas and has the largest artificial breeding population of giant pandas in the world. Currently, 24 pandas from the base are involved in international scientific research cooperation in six countries — Japan, the United States, Spain, France, Germany and Denmark.

The base was established in 1987, starting with six sick and hungry animals rescued from the wild. It has been carrying out scientific research and mastered the world's leading core technology of giant panda breeding and cultivating. It has developed into a world-renowned giant panda center for protection, scientific research and breeding, related education and tourism.

The mascot of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, Rongbao, was designed based on a giant panda named Zhima from the research base. Zhima has a small black spot beside its nose, as if it had just eaten sesame stealthily without wiping its mouth.