Seen as "national treasure of China" as well as a symbol of peace, panda (Chinese: 熊猫, short for "giant panda (大熊猫)" in Chinese) is an endangered mammal winning great attention from all over the world. Two researches done in 1970s and 1980s showed that there were some 1000 wild pandas in about 37 counties of China, in a habitat of around 13,000 square kilometers. Another survey by the State Bureau of Forestry of China in 2006 got a result that the amount of wild pandas in China increased to 1596, with 161 being reared in pens. As the rarest breed of ursidae, giant pandas have been listed as one of the endangered animals in the world.
被视作“中国国宝”也象征着和平的熊猫（中文名为熊猫，是“大熊猫”的简称）是一种吸引着全世界目光的濒危哺乳动物。1970年代与1980年代的两项调查研究显示，有1000余只大熊猫栖息在中国的约37个县、方圆13000平方公里的土地上。根据中国国家林业局于2006年开展的另一项调查研究的结果显示，中国的野生大熊猫数量已经上升至1596只，其中有161只是人工豢养的。作为最为珍稀的熊科动物品质，大熊猫被列入“世界濒危动物”的名录。
With the scientific name "猫熊(mao xiong)" in Chinese, giant pandas are commonly called "熊猫(xiong mao)" in mainland China as a matter of fact, which is a reversed pronunciation of their scientific name. So why the "inaccurate" name "熊猫"? The reason for that can be traced back to the first half of 1900s when reading from right to left was still the customary way in China: On one occasion, the former Chongqing Beibei Museum exhibited some specimens of giant panda with the name "猫熊" which should be read from left to right, but journalists used the name in a reversed way according to the reading way at that time, hence, "熊猫" was widely known to the public and passed down to this day.
事实上，与中文学名“猫熊”相对应的是，大熊猫在中国大陆地区通常被称作“熊猫”，即对学名发音的一种颠倒。那为什么会产生这个“不准确”的“熊猫”称呼呢？这就要追溯到1900年代上半叶，那是中国的阅读习惯是从右至左。有一次，过去的重庆北碚博物馆展出了一些大熊猫的样本，这些被命名的标本名字，如果从左至右读，应读为“猫熊”，但是，记者仍然沿用当时的阅读习惯，把阅读方向倒转了过来。此后，“熊猫”的称呼被广泛传播，且沿用至今。
With particularly favorable natural conditions, Chengdu of Sichuan Province has been being home of pandas. Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which is equipped with world-class facilities for pandas, is so far the biggest and most renowned panda base with most pandas among all the zoos and parks China as well as the most popular choice for tourists to visit pandas in the world.
具备独特而优良的自然条件的四川成都向来是熊猫们的故乡。配备有世界级别熊猫研究设备的成都大熊猫繁育研究基地，在全中国的动物园和公园中，是迄今为止全中国最大、最著名且拥有最多熊猫数量的。它也是全世界最受游客欢迎的熊猫参观地。
New Words:
panda 熊猫xióngmāo
mammal 哺乳动物búrǔ dòngwù
habitat 栖息地qīxī dì
breed 品种pínzhǒng
scientific name 学名xuémíng
journalist 新闻记者 xīnwén jìzhě