Panda lovers can expect more spectacular views of the bear in cinemas as the first IMAX 3D panda documentary began filming on Tuesday in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Producers of "Return to Nature", the first IMAX 3D documentary on Panda, attend a ceremony marking the start of the shooting of the film in southwestern Chinese city of Chendu on January 10, 2017.[Photo: sichuan.scol.com.cn]

"Return To Nature" documents the conservation, breeding and rehabilitation of giant pandas in a breeding base in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, and a research center in Dujiangyan City.

Drew Fellman is director of the film. Filming is expected to take nine months.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Canadian-based IMAX Corporation are cooperating on the film, which is funded by Global Cause Foundation, a U.S. non-profit.

Officials from the Chengdu research base said they hope the documentary can help promote protection of giant pandas as well as Chengdu's image as an international tourist destination featuring pandas.

The Global Cause Foundation has been working with the Chengdu base for many years and has set up research projects to release pandas to the wild.

IMAX Corporation signed a deal with the Chengdu research base to shoot the panda documentary in October 2015.