China's battle to save its famous giant panda has never stopped, and is being fought on many fronts. On Tuesday, the opening ceremony for the first Giant Panda National Park Rare Species Protection Lab was held in China's Sichuan Province. CGTN's Liu Yang takes us to the facility.

The opening of a new panda protection lab signifies an important step in protecting many of the world's rarest species. The lab aims to provide technical support for biodiversity conservation. It's also a shared experiment platform for Giant Panda National Park, National Nature Reserve, the National Zoo, and several universities across the globe. It aims to be a teaching and research base for training professionals.

ZHANG HEMIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHINA CONSERVATION & RESEARCH CENTER FOR THE GIANT PANDA "Previously, we only paid attention to giant pandas. Now we want to gather all the biodiversity conservation experts we can to better protect this habitat, and protect the whole ecosystem."

The Giant Panda National Park is slated to open in 2023, thanks in large part to about 1.58 billion US dollars in government funding. The park will be three times the size of Yellowstone National Park in the US. It will offer breeding assistance to six wild pandas isolated on six mountains across Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, thus strengthening their gene pool.

OUYANG ZHIYUN, DIRECTOR RESEARCH CENTER FOR EXO-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES "Giant Pandas are one of the symbols of Giant Panda National Park. It will help protect all rare species and wildlife in this area. It is very important to set up this laboratory, not only to study giant pandas, but also golden monkeys, wildebeests and so on. Protecting animals and plants is also protecting human beings."

More than 80 percent of the world's wild giant pandas live in Sichuan, with the rest in Shaanxi and Gansu. Foreign experts attending the event say they are going to focus on two types of research: conservation education, and genetics.

JOSE KOK, ZOOLOGICAL DIRECTOR NETHERLANDS OUWEHAND ZOO "I think this is very important, because it enables good conservation, not only for the giant panda, but also all of its neighbors. So the other inhabitants of this lovely eco-system."

Since the 1980's, China has spearheaded the protection of the iconic black-and-white bear. Giant panda numbers have almost doubled in the past 50 years. In 2016, the giant panda's status was downgraded from 'Endangered' to 'Vulnerable'. Yet, only some 1,800 have been found in the wild, and only a few hundred are living in captivity. Experts say there's a long road ahead to save the bear and its neighbors. Liu Yang, CGTN, Sichuan Province.