٠٠:٠٣:٠٣Fans of Japan-born panda Xiang Xiang gathered to celebrate her seventh birthday on Wednesday at the Ya'an base of the China National Research Base of the Giant Panda.
"Xiang Xiang returned to our Ya’an base on February 21 last year. When her quarantine was finished she first met the public here in her mountain villa on 8th October 2023," said Zhao Lanlan, a Panda keeper at CCRCGP.
The giant female panda was born on 12 June 2017 at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents are Shin Shin (female) and Ri Ri (male), both on loan from China, which retains ownership of any cubs born to them.
Footage shows fans, including some from Japan, queuing up to photograph Xiang Xiang eating and chewing bamboo shoots.
"Since it’s Xiang Xiang’s birthday, I came all the way from Japan to China yesterday," said a Japanese visitor.
"There is a group of Japanese fans coming every day. From the opening of the park in the morning to the afternoon," Lanlan said.
"When she returned from Japan, she had only been exposed to the Japanese language," she explained. "I didn’t know how to communicate with her, and I thought that when she returned to our country, back to China, back to her hometown, I should use my hometown language to communicate with her".
"Therefore, I basically use the Sichuan dialect to communicate with her during this time, which as I said, also adds to the process of building trust between us, which is a very long process," she added.
According to media reports, Xiang Xiang now lives there alongside other internationally-born pandas, such as Bei Bei, who was born in Washington DC.
Have a Bamboo-tiful day! Fans celebrate 7th birthday of Japan-born giant panda Xiang Xiang in China's Ya'an
Fans of Japan-born panda Xiang Xiang gathered to celebrate her seventh birthday on Wednesday at the Ya'an base of the China National Research Base of the Giant Panda.
"Xiang Xiang returned to our Ya’an base on February 21 last year. When her quarantine was finished she first met the public here in her mountain villa on 8th October 2023," said Zhao Lanlan, a Panda keeper at CCRCGP.
The giant female panda was born on 12 June 2017 at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents are Shin Shin (female) and Ri Ri (male), both on loan from China, which retains ownership of any cubs born to them.
Footage shows fans, including some from Japan, queuing up to photograph Xiang Xiang eating and chewing bamboo shoots.
"Since it’s Xiang Xiang’s birthday, I came all the way from Japan to China yesterday," said a Japanese visitor.
"There is a group of Japanese fans coming every day. From the opening of the park in the morning to the afternoon," Lanlan said.
"When she returned from Japan, she had only been exposed to the Japanese language," she explained. "I didn’t know how to communicate with her, and I thought that when she returned to our country, back to China, back to her hometown, I should use my hometown language to communicate with her".
"Therefore, I basically use the Sichuan dialect to communicate with her during this time, which as I said, also adds to the process of building trust between us, which is a very long process," she added.
According to media reports, Xiang Xiang now lives there alongside other internationally-born pandas, such as Bei Bei, who was born in Washington DC.
Fans of Japan-born panda Xiang Xiang gathered to celebrate her seventh birthday on Wednesday at the Ya'an base of the China National Research Base of the Giant Panda.
"Xiang Xiang returned to our Ya’an base on February 21 last year. When her quarantine was finished she first met the public here in her mountain villa on 8th October 2023," said Zhao Lanlan, a Panda keeper at CCRCGP.
The giant female panda was born on 12 June 2017 at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents are Shin Shin (female) and Ri Ri (male), both on loan from China, which retains ownership of any cubs born to them.
Footage shows fans, including some from Japan, queuing up to photograph Xiang Xiang eating and chewing bamboo shoots.
"Since it’s Xiang Xiang’s birthday, I came all the way from Japan to China yesterday," said a Japanese visitor.
"There is a group of Japanese fans coming every day. From the opening of the park in the morning to the afternoon," Lanlan said.
"When she returned from Japan, she had only been exposed to the Japanese language," she explained. "I didn’t know how to communicate with her, and I thought that when she returned to our country, back to China, back to her hometown, I should use my hometown language to communicate with her".
"Therefore, I basically use the Sichuan dialect to communicate with her during this time, which as I said, also adds to the process of building trust between us, which is a very long process," she added.
According to media reports, Xiang Xiang now lives there alongside other internationally-born pandas, such as Bei Bei, who was born in Washington DC.