CHENGDU -- The population of giant pandas, China's beloved mascot, is growing stably thanks to an improving environment of their habitats in wake of the country's conservation efforts, according to sources with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Giant pandas are a national treasure of China and a flagship species of global biodiversity protection.

In October 2021, the country set up a Giant Panda National Park spanning its southwestern province of Sichuan and northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, protecting more than 70 percent of the wild giant pandas in the nation.

 More than 1,300 wild giant pandas live in the park which covers some 22,000 square kilometers.

 In interviews with China Central Television, staff members of the park said their encounters with wild giant pandas are becoming more and more frequent in recent years, and that they even had to use drones to capture the footage of five different giant pandas at the same location in one month in Gansu.

"According to our latest monitoring data, the number of giant pandas monitored in the scope of key areas has risen by 50 compared with four years ago, which shows that the population of giant pandas is going up steadily, and the isolation of small populations is continuing to ease," said Yang Zhisong, deputy head of Sichuan Giant Panda Research Institute.