The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in southwest China's Yunnan Province is reflecting back on its remarkable achievements thanks to its improved conservation efforts as it observes World Elephant Day on Wednesday.

Asian elephants are the largest terrestrial mammals on the Asian continent and under the first-class protection in China. They are mainly distributed throughout Yunnan.

The center is a nature reserve in Yunnan's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, which boasts a strong track record in rescue, breeding and conservation of Asian elephants.

The population of the massive mammals in China rose from over 100 at the end of last century to about 300 by the end of 2019, thanks to the country's unremitting environmental and wildlife protection efforts.

"The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center, established in 2008, is one of the 15 species saving projects launched by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration. By far, the center has conducted more than 20 rescues of a total of 23 wild Asian elephants. Four of them were released on the spot," said Shen Qingzhong, senior engineer of Yunnan's Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve.

The staff's daily routine is first to observe and clean the elephants' excrement, then give the kind animals showers and perform physical examinations. After all these chores are finished, the gentle giants will be led to the mountains for wilderness survival training.

"There are 11 wild Asian elephants in the center under rehabilitation program currently," said Chen Jiming, a caregiver at the center.

World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12 with the goal to create awareness of the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.