Northwest China's Shaanxi Province has decided to build more nature reserves in a bid to protect the large number of rare species living in the Qinling mountain range.

According to sources with the provincial forestry department, 75 more nature reserves will be established in the next five decades. Covering 1.73 million hectares, the reserves are designed to protect wild life, and the ecosystems of forests, wetlands and deserts.

Quan Zhichang, an official with the department, said that, by that time, one tenth of the province's territory will be a paradise for wild animals and plants, which is sure to help ecological environmental protection, the protection of rare species, and relevant international cooperation and communication.

The 800-km-long Qinling range, stretching through the central and southern areas of the province, is the demarcation line between China's northern and southern climates. The warm and damp mountain area is home to several rare species of animals, such as giant pandas and golden monkeys.

(Eastday.com.cn 08/06/2001)