China has a great diversity of animals. The species in China are plentiful and account for 10% of the world total. Among the species, there are 1,175 types of birds, 414 types of beasts, 196 species of amphibians, 315 types of reptiles and over 2,000 species of fish.

Some of these species are unique to China, or mainly live in China, such as golden monkey, sika deer, re-crowned crane, giant panda, Chinese alligator, giant salamander and wild two-humped camel. They are not only precious natural resources but also valuable tourist resources.

Red-Crowned Crane
Red-Crowned Crane can live as long as 50-60 years, therefore it is also known as "immortal crane". It has a graceful shape and elegant bearing. Red-crowned crane is famous for its long beak, neck and legs. When it stands erect, its height reaches more than 1 m. It has white plumage. With the bare vermillion top of the head, it seems to wear a small red hat, which explains why it gained the name. Red-crowned crane is a favorite of the tourist. They live on fish, insects and aquatic plants. In summer, they live in the swamps of heilongjiang province while in winter they fly south.

Altogether there are about 1,200 wild red-crowned cranes in the world. Those in China account for 60% of this number and are under State first-grade protection.

Manchurian Tiger
Manchurian Tiger, also called Siberian Tiger, originates from the northeast of Asia. Its body is about 1.6-2 m long. As the largest tiger in the world, it deserves the title of "king of the animals". The pattern on its forehead resembles the Chinese character "?" (wang meaning the king). Manchurian tiger move around at night. They mainly live in the northeast of China and are granted State first-grade protection.

At present, wild manchurian tigers are scarce, and have receded to the south bank of Songhuajiang River, mainly at Sino-Russian border area in the drainage area of Ussuri and Tumen rivers.

David's Deer
David's Deer is a rare animal that is unique in China. It has horns like a deer, a head like a horse, a body like a donkey, hoofs like an ox. So it is dubbed Sibuxiang (an animal of four-unlikeness). It is a precious animal for display because of its peculiar shape, tame temperament and rarity.

Golden Monkey
Golden Monkey is also called snub-nosed monkey. It is a rare animal unique to China. Golden monkeys are mainly dispersed in Szechuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Hubei provinces. Their name comes from their shiny golden hair, resembling thread of gold. Their bodies are about 53-72 cm long. The length of their tail is about the same as that of their body. The male golden monkey is big and strong with shining hair, whereas the famale is relatively small with pale hair. They like living in groups and feed on wild fruits, leaves, twigs, and also bryophytes. They are granted the State first-grade protection.

Giant Panda
Giant Panda are rare animals in the world. They have a long history and are called "living fossils" by zoologists. They are manily distributed over the north of Szechuan province and the south of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Giant panda is one of the first-grade animals under the state protection.

Giant panda is also called Maoxiong (meaning literally cat bear in Chinese). It is fat, resembling a bear but is a little bit smaller. Its tail is short. The hairs around its eyes and on its ears, limbs and shoulders are black, with the rest of the body being white. It has tame nature and clumsy movements, which make it look adorable. Its hairs are thick and shining, making it cold-resistant. It likes eating bamboo leaves and shoots.

China has sent some giant panda as state presents to some countries of friendship. They have become "envoys of peace and friendship". Now World Wildlife Fund (WWF) uses giant panda as its logo.

Chinese Alligator (Yangtze Alligator)
Chinese alligator is one of the rarest freshwater alligators, and is peculiar to China. It is called Yangtze Alligator because its original habitat is Yangtze River. It is usually more than two meters long. Its head and body are flat and it is covered with big squamae. Its back is brown. Chinese alligators are mainly distributed in Xuancheng, Guangde and Nanling of Anhui province. There is a natural reserve of Chinese alligators in Xuancheng.

All the above rare wild animals are treasures in China. To protect these animals living environment, China has built many natural reserves, such as Wolong Natural Reserve in Szechuan, Xishuangbanna Natural Reserve in Yunnan, Shennongjia Natural Reserve in Hubei and so on. Some special pretective organizations have also been established for their sake.