Chinanews.com, November 11 (He Luman, Yue Jieyu) Late at night on the 9th, Beijing time, the giant pandas "Mei Xiang" and "Tian Tian" living in the United States and their male cubs "Little Miracle" arrived in Chengdu, China.
As the latest giant pandas to return home from a "business trip", their return home has not only made the local people reluctant to give up, but also warmly welcomed by the Chinese people.
As 2023 draws to a close, how many pandas have returned to their hometowns this year?
When: February 2 local time
Protagonist: Giant panda "Xiangxiang" in Japan
Data map: Giant panda "Xiangxiang".
Xiangxiang was born in June 2017 at Ueno Zoo in Japan, to Chinese giant pandas Billy and Fairy.
"Xiangxiang" is very popular in Japan and is loved by Japanese citizens. On the last day of the visit, many visitors said goodbye to "Xiangxiang" by saying "goodbye" and "thank you" in tears during the allotted visit time of 2 minutes on average.
When: February 2 local time
Protagonists: Giant panda "Yongming" and twin daughters "Sakuraha" and "Taohama"
On February 2, local time, in the "Adventure World" of Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, the giant panda "Yongming" and its twin daughters "Sakurahama" and "Momohama" were put in a cage and prepared to leave for China.
Yongming was born in Beijing Zoo in 1992 and came to Japan in 1994 for Sino-Japanese cooperative breeding research. Yongming and giant panda Mei Mei (who died in 2008) gave birth to six children, and later had 6 sons with giant panda Liangbin, making him the father of a total of 10 pandas.
On February 2, local time, the "Adventure World" in Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, held a farewell event for the giant panda "Yongming" and twin daughters "Sakurahama" and "Momohama", who are about to return to China. The picture shows "Yongming" enjoying a bamboo feast.
The day before their departure, Adventure World, a leisure park in Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, held a farewell ceremony for the father and daughter of "Yongming", and the staff and visitors expressed their gratitude and reluctance.
When: February 4 local time
Protagonist: Giant panda "Yaya" in the United States
On May 5, the giant panda "Yaya" returned to the Beijing Zoo. Photo by China News Service Fu Zhuoxin
Yaya was born in Beijing Zoo in 2000 and went to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, USA in 2003 to start living in the United States.
On April 2023, 4, hundreds of people attended Yaya's farewell party at the Memphis Zoo's China Pavilion, where they said goodbye to Yaya and signed their farewell letter.
When: February 7 local time
Protagonist: Giant panda in France "Dream Comes True"
On July 7th, "Dreams come true" at the Beauval Zoo.
On August 2017, 8, "Dream Fulfillment" was born at the Beauval Wildlife Park in Saint-Aignan, France, and it was the first giant panda born in France. On December 4 of the same year, French First Lady Brigitte Macron held a naming ceremony for the 12-month-old "Dream Fulfillment", and she herself became the "godmother" of "Dream Fulfillment", and made a special trip to the airport to see off the "Dream Fulfillment" when it left France.
The name "Dream Comes True" was jointly chosen by China and France, which means "dreams come true" and also embodies the good wish of Sino-French friendship to last forever.
When: February 8 local time
Protagonists: Giant pandas "Yiyi" and "Shengyi"
On April 4, at the Malaysian National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, the panda cub Sheng Yi (left), who is about to celebrate its second birthday, is playing with his mother Liang Liang (right).
"Yiyi" and "Shengyi" were born in 2018 and 2021 respectively at the Malaysian Zoo. On August 8, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change of Malaysia Pham Chang Seok, Chairman of the National Zoo of Malaysia Zaharin and other officials attended the farewell ceremony held by the National Zoo of Malaysia for the "Friendship" and "Promotion".
When: February 9 local time
Protagonist: Giant panda "Fanxing"
Data map: In 2021, the giant panda "Fanxing" in the Netherlands will turn one year old.
Born in 2020, Fanxing is the first giant panda to be born in the Netherlands. His parents, Xingya and Wu Wen, arrived in the Netherlands in April 2017 and made their home at the Ovhienz Zoo, where the giant panda has since become a symbol of the Óvehanz Zoo and the city of Renen.
The name "Van Xing" is taken from the Dutch painter Van Gogh and his father "Xingya", and the word "star" also means Van Gogh's famous work "Starry Night". On the day of departure, the zoo held a grand farewell ceremony for the "Van Xing", and hundreds of Dutch people were reluctant to wave goodbye.
When: December 2023
Protagonist: Giant pandas in the UK "Tiantian" and "Sunshine"
Data map: Giant panda "Tian Tian" in Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, UK, enjoys a special Christmas tree-shaped cake. Image source: Visual China
In December, two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Sunshine, who live in Edinburgh, UK, will return to China.
Data map: Giant panda "Sunshine" eats lunch. Photo by China News Service Zhang Lang
In January 2011, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Royal Society of Zoology of Scotland reached an agreement under which Tian Tian and Sunshine were loaned to Edinburgh Zoo for 1 years.
As of October 10, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the total number of giant pandas living abroad in China reached 24. According to the on-site inspection and evaluation of 63 overseas cooperative institutions in 19 countries where Chinese giant pandas live, the health of Chinese giant pandas abroad is generally good, and international cooperation on giant pandas has achieved remarkable results.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry previously said that the giant panda is not only a national treasure of China, but also welcomed and loved by people all over the world, and can be said to be a messenger and bridge of friendship. China has carried out cooperative research on giant panda conservation with many countries, with the aim of improving the level of conservation of endangered species and promoting global biodiversity conservation. In the future, China will continue to work with partners, including the United States, to strengthen cooperation to protect endangered species.