Shaanxi Foping Nature Reserve (陜西佛坪大熊貓自然保護區(qū))
Foping Nature Reserve is located in the Qinling Mountains, covering an area of 35,000 hectares. It was established in 1978, for the purpose of protecting giant pandas and their habitat. The reserve has been included in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) of UNESCO.
The area's climate ranges from subtropical to temperate, warm and moist under the influence of the monsoon season, suitable for the survival of pandas. Farges cane and umbrella bamboo are the major food source for giant pandas here.
The area is home to a large amount of pandas. After over 30 years of protection, the number of pandas in the reserve has reached 110-130. In the area with high density of panda population, there is one panda every 0.48 km2, the densest of any reserve in the country.
A few brown-white giant pandas, instead of the typical black-white, have been found in Foping. In 1985 when they were found for the first time, a first-day cover of stamp for the uniquely colored pandas was released.