The United Nations' international cultural and environmental body, Unesco, has added the mainland's Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuary to its World Heritage Site list this month.
The Unesco World Heritage Committee met in Vilnius, Lithuania, where they selected the panda sanctuary along with two other sites: Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary in Colombia, and the Kvarken Archipelago in Finland, which is an extension to the High Coast of Sweden.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) provided the Unesco convention with assessments and advice on each of the sites.
The three additions bring the number of natural properties on the list up to 162.
The list, created in 1972, contains about 830 natural and cultural sites of outstanding universal value.
The committee applauded China's efforts in protecting the key habitat for the endangered giant panda.
'This is a great success for China, the World Heritage Convention and for conservation in general,' said David Sheppard, head of the IUCN delegation in Vilnius.
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