CHENGDU, China — The moment plane touches down in Chengdu, it is immediately clear this is China’s panda capital. Giant black-and-white sculptures line the arrival hall, cartoon pandas beam from wayfinding signs and duty-free displays, and airport cafes serve lattes topped with foamy panda faces. It is a preview of a metropolis where China’s most beloved animal is everywhere, from street murals to subway ads, and sits at the city's cultural identity and tourism boom. As endangered species, giant pandas are one of only three panda species, and they are only found in China. Around 1,800 are believed to be the total number of live giant pandas, cool and humid bamboo forests in the mountains in Sichuan Province, where Chengdu is the capital, is home to 72 percent of them. The city has transformed the ecological trait into a powerful tourism brand. At the heart of its “panda city” image is the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. “This base covers about 3,570 acres,” said panda tour guide Zhao Liping as she was leading a group of reporters past leafy enclosures at the