HONG KONG (AP) — A pair of five-year-old pandas, named An An and Ke Ke, celebrated their first Christmas early in a Hong Kong park Monday, munching on particular treats and searching cute for the cameras.
China despatched the pair to Hong Kong in late September in a bid to spice up tourism within the metropolis. They had been quarantined for a few months earlier than they made their debut to enthusiastic guests on the metropolis’s Ocean Park theme park, becoming a member of 4 different pandas.
An An is described as clever and lively whereas Ke Ke is thought to have a mild temperament and is an efficient climber.
Large Panda An An celebrates Christmas close to a Christmas tree stacked from bamboos at Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photograph/Katie Tam)
Pandas are broadly seen as China’s unofficial nationwide mascot, as they’re solely present in China’s southwest and their inhabitants is below menace from growth. The Chinese language authorities actively breeds pandas and raises them as a part of a nationwide program. It additionally loans the animals out in a world program with abroad zoos as a part of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy.
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has been internet hosting pandas since 1999, when the primary pair, An An and Jia Jia, arrived within the monetary hub shortly after the previous British colony returned to China.
Initially Printed: December 23, 2024 at 4:09 PM EST
