Where Do Giant Pandas Live? Exploring Li County
By Chuan-X Panda
Published: July 25, 2026
As is well known, giant pandas come from China, and the vast majority of China's pandas are found in Sichuan Province. Within Sichuan, the main panda habitats are the Minshan Mountains, the Qionglai Mountains, the Daxiangling Mountains, the Xiaoxiangling Mountains, and the Liangshan Mountains. In addition, giant pandas are also distributed in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi Province. In terms of population size and habitat area, the Minshan and Qionglai ranges rank first.
To see the real landscape of the Minshan Mountains—home to giant pandas—We, Chuan-X Panda team traveled to Li County, one of the main panda distribution areas in the Minshan range. We would like to visit the pandas' home in person and gather inspiration for better panda‑related product design.
We arrived at the Mengtun River Valley Scenic Area in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan. The area is dominated by snow‑capped mountains, alpine lakes, gorges, and primeval forests. Visitors can only move within the designated public areas, but deep in these remote mountains and dense forests, at elevations between 1,200 and 3,200 meters, lies exactly the kind of environment pandas prefer. In fact, the panda distribution within the Minshan range varies across different sub‑regions.
The Minshan Mountains are the easternmost range of the Hengduan Mountains, spanning Sichuan and Gansu provinces. In Sichuan, they lie mainly in the northeastern and eastern parts of Aba Prefecture, including Jiuzhaigou County, Wenchuan County, Li County, and others. The giant pandas found here are known as the Minshan Mountain pandas.
WHY DO PANDAS LIVE IN LI COUNTY?
Li County, as part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site “Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries,” features typical sub‑alpine cut‑and‑dissected terrain, with rich landscapes of high mountains, deep gorges, primeval forests, and glacial lakes. These diverse habitats meet the pandas’ needs for food (mainly bamboo), water, and shelter, making it an important refuge for giant pandas and many other rare species. For pandas, “shelter” is especially crucial. First, although giant pandas are powerful, during estrus and cub‑rearing periods they need a safe, secluded environment to avoid predators and protect themselves. Second, in the remote forests, abundant bamboo and water are essential for survival. Moreover, giant pandas are solitary animals and do not like company, so they prefer undisturbed, secluded environments.
HARMONIOUS COEXISTENCE BETWEEN HUMANS AND PANDAS
For centuries, pandas and humans have lived together peacefully here, with pandas even revered by local people as “sacred beasts of the snowy land.” Li County is mainly inhabited by the Jiarong Tibetan people. They follow the Red Sect of Tibetan Buddhism and mostly live in high‑altitude areas above 2,500 meters—precisely the same regions where pandas roam. The locals make their living through farming and herding, and they often encounter giant pandas. Over time, humans and animals have coexisted without disturbing each other. In the Jiarong Tibetan cultural tradition, the giant panda is honored as a “sacred beast of the snowy plateau,” symbolizing purity and longevity. The ecological view that humans, animals, and nature are one has long been part of the local culture.
During this visit, our Chuan‑X Panda team went to the Mengtun River Valley Scenic Area in Li County to experience the wild panda habitat up close. Of course, the area accessible to tourists is the open public zone, which features snowy peaks, gorges, and primeval forests. But giant pandas are extremely elusive animals; most of them live deep in the mountains and forests, far from human traces. To minimize human disturbance, the local government in Li County even specially designed panda‑only passages when building roads.
As an old Chinese saying goes: “A mountain need not be high to have immortals; a water need not be deep to have dragons.” In this natural oxygen bar of high peaks and dense forests, mist and clouds often shroud the mountainsides at dawn and dusk. In the words of ancient Chinese wisdom, this is a place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers. Here, amidst the alpine streams and snowy expanses, beneath the vast sky, both humans and animals can live leisurely, relaxed, and full of vitality—a place that truly inspires the heart.