Opened in 2003, the Ya'an Bifengxia Base under the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, is today home to the world's largest panda population in captivity. Its numbers were boosted in 2008 when, in the wake of the Wenchuan earthquake, it received pandas evacuated from Wolong. Originally set up as a base for breeding, rescuing and rewilding pandas, today Ya'an has expanded its activities to include ecosystem restoration. By reclaiming almost 500 hectares of panda habitat and linking three ecological corridors, it provides a Chinese model for global biodiversity conservation.