Giant panda Ya Ya was scheduled to arrive in China from the U.S. on Thursday, after a 20-year loan for joint research and conservation project.

Pandas, with its distinctive black and white coat, are adored by the world and considered a national treasure in China.

The number of captive giant pandas across the world has reached 673, nearly double the number from a decade ago, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

Thanks to China's devotion to maintaining nature reserves and other conservation initiatives in recent years, the wild giant panda population in China has risen from 1,114 in the 1980s to 1,864, while protected habitats for the species have also expanded significantly during the same period, Duan Zhaogang, director of the center said in 2022.

Through various projects, financial aid, joint research, talent exchanges, technology support, and focused training, the Chengdu Panda Base established a worldwide network for scientific panda research. This, in turn fostered long-term cooperative relationships with many renowned zoos, research institutions, and universities both at home and abroad.

Since 2007, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Chengdu Office has worked with the Department of Conservation Education at the Chengdu Panda Base on several joint endeavors.

On September 24, 2008, the WWF and Chengdu Panda Base formally entered into a partnership and signed a cooperation intention memorandum. As a result, both parties pledged their cooperation with efforts such as assessment of giant panda populations, reconstruction of ecological protection infrastructure in nature reserves, and release of captive pandas into the wild.