BEIJING, May 8 --  China plans to build a new giant panda museum which aims to be the biggest of its kind to introduce efforts to save the endangered animal and its habitat.

     

Two pandas play together at the Wolong Panda Research Centre in Sichuan Province. China plans to build a new giant panda museum which aims to be the biggest of its kind to introduce efforts to save the endangered animal and its habitat. [AFP]

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 "man, panda and the harmony of nature," Xinhua news agency said Saturday.

    Design plans for the museum from China, the United States and France are going through final stages of decision making, the report said without giving details of the cost of the museum or its expected completion date.

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

    The survival of the panda is of great concern to many Chinese.

    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.

    (Source: China Daily/Agencies)