(Yicai Global) July 31 -- The three Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu that have pandas living in the wild plan to set up a 27,000-square-kilometer national panda park to reinforce ties between different habitats and protection of the species.

The state news agency Xinhua reported the plan on July 29 without elaborating.

Giant pandas are a rare and endangered species unique to China. China had 1,864 wild pandas as of the end of 2013 and their habitat covered an area of 2.58 million hectares, per official data. Based on their habitat, pandas living in the wild are classified into 33 regional groups in China, with four groups in Gansu facing a high risk of extinction.