Giant pandas, the beloved official animal of China, have drawn streams of tourists from across the country to Foping County, a new home for giant pandas in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, during the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday running from Sept 29 to Oct 6.

Foping County lies on the southern side of the Qinling Mountains, one of the main habitats for the giant panda and many rare animals and plants. It has been awarded the Foping Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The new home for giant pandas is the Foping Rescue, Breeding and Research Base of Qinling Giant Pandas, or simply Foping Panda Base.
Officially named on October 21, 2022, the base is in Shawo Village. It is 18 kilometers from the center of Foping County and at an altitude of 1,350 meters above sea level. Pandas here can stay in their indoor "panda house" and have 20 outdoor playgrounds.
At Foping Panda Base, the bears eat bamboos, scratch itches and do somersaults, attracting large numbers of visitors to watch.
The base now receives more than 6,000 visits daily during the holiday season.
"I like the giant pandas here very much. And I've also bought a giant panda doll. It is very cute and I like it very much," said Huang Sicheng, a visitor.
The panda craze has also driven up sales of various innovative cultural products.
Other villages in the vicinity have also rolled out panda-themed tourism programs to woo tourists.
Besides, lantern shows, lion dance, art performances and other folk programs are staged to enrich the experience of the visitors.
The captive breeding pandas are less strong than the wild ones, especially their hind legs. Staff members use a bamboo pole with food tied on it to tempt the pandas to stand up on their hind legs and exercise their muscles.
In the 1980s, there were only about 10 wild pandas in Foping. After years of conservation, the number has increased to about 130, which accounts for a third of the whole population in the Qinling Mountains. The wild giant panda's population density in Foping is also the highest in the country.