The Wolong National Nature Reserve is located in the southwestern part of Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, China, on the eastern wing of the Qionglai Mountains. The highest peak is Mount Siguniang in the southwest, with an altitude of 6,250 meters, and there are 101 peaks nearby higher than 5,000 meters. Surrounded by mountains, the terrain tilts from the southwest to the northeast, with numerous streams. The average annual temperature is 8.9°C, the highest temperature is 29.2°C, the lowest temperature is -8.5°C, and the annual precipitation is 931 millimeters. Dense virgin forests cover the area, situated in the transitional zone between the Sichuan Basin and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where organisms from subtropical to temperate and cold zones are distributed. Below an altitude of 1,600 meters are evergreen broad-leaved forests; from 1,600 to 2,000 meters are mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forests, with evergreen species such as beech and camphor, and deciduous species like birch, beech, and maple; from 2,000 to 2,600 meters are mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, dominated by hemlock, followed by drooping spruce, Sichuan red fir, maple, linden, etc.; from 2,600 to 3,600 meters are subalpine coniferous forests, mainly composed of Minjiang fir, with large areas of arrow bamboo under the forest; above 3,500 meters are alpine meadows and shrublands. Different types of vegetation provide habitats for various animals. The nature reserve was established in 1963, covering an area of 20,000 hectares. In 1983, it joined the international "Man and Biosphere Programme". The main protected objects are giant pandas and other rare animals, as well as forest ecosystems. In 1980, the Wolong China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda was established in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund.