Southwest China's Sichuan Province, home to most of China's giant pandas, is planning to relocate 172,200 people to build a panda national park, the provincial forestry department said Thursday.

The 27,134-square-kilometer park that covers parts of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, was approved by central government this year.

The area in Sichuan will cover around 20,000 square kilometers, 74 percent of the park. Seven cities and prefectures, and 19 counties are involved.

About 32,300 workers and retired people in more than 1,900 mines and forests in the area would be affected, the forestry department said.

According to the latest nationwide survey, China has 1,864 wild pandas and 471 in captivity.

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