China is building a 'Panda Capital' that's 110 times the size of Disneyland
The city hopes to preserve and protect the world's 1,800 remaining giant pandas.
Preserving the giant panda's habitat could also protect other endangered wildlife.
Species like the snub-nosed monkey and red panda rely on the giant panda's forest habitat to survive.
The first site, the Longquanshan Panda Village, will be a "gateway into the city."
The village will be located near Chengdu's second international airport, which is supposed to be fully operational by 2030.
Zhang wouldn't give a timeline for Sasaki's projects, which will undergo multiple phases.
The Beihu Panda Park will expand the Chengdu Panda Base to three times its size.
The new development, located just outside the downtown area, will include botanical gardens, a wetland park, and a sports park, as well as opportunities to learn about how the pandas live and interact.
The panda park alone could attract more visitors than Disneyland — around 20 million people annually.
The Dujiangyan Panda Wilderness is the most remote of the three sites, located at the foothills of the Tibetan plateau.
The wilderness's researchers will focus on training young pandas born in captivity, with the ultimate goal of releasing them into the wild.
An autonomous tram would connect the city's cultural destinations to a planned sports district.
Sasaki has proposed three additional metro lines and six new metro stations around the Beihu Panda Park.
The biggest challenge will be balancing environmental conservation and urban development.
Sasaki hopes to strike "a careful balance" between the site's public experiences and preservation efforts.
"Different areas of the reserve will have different levels of human interaction," Zhang said. "All must be carefully coordinated."
Fresh off their win, Sasaki has yet to discuss the project's overall cost with the Chengdu government.
The sites and the city will evolve together, Zhang said.
At 27 square miles, the developments are part of Chengdu's goal to become a future Olympics site.
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