CHENGDU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- An encyclopedia, focusing on various aspects of giant pandas, has been published.

This popular science book for children was written by Zhang Zhihe, a giant panda expert and director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Zhang has been studying the protection of wild animals, such as giant pandas, for 30 years.

Through the personified dialogue between a mother giant panda and her son, the book provides details about the look, life, evolution, and protection of the chubby bears, and has many precious pictures of the pandas, including them playing games, eating, fighting, and searching for food.

The number of captive pandas stood at about 600 globally as of November last year. Fewer than 2,000 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Enditem