Giant panda fan Wan Yongqing will come close to fulfilling a long-held dream when the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province completes its latest attraction - a virtual reality "panda paradise".

Wan wants to touch a panda, but since that's prohibited, he'll settle for the next-best thing, a fur-covered replica panda that looks like the real thing through a VR headset.

"Thanks to the construction of a virtual reality panda-themed paradise, visitors will be able to experience something very much like feeling a real panda," said Wan, a photographer from Beijing.