Hong Kong welcomes new giant pandas gifted by Beijing, raising hopes for tourism boost

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong welcomed a brand new pair of big pandas gifted by Beijing on Thursday with a lavish ceremony, elevating hopes for a lift to the town’s tourism.

An An and Ke Ke are the third pair of big pandas to be despatched to the town from mainland China for the reason that former British colony returned to Chinese language rule in 1997. Their arrival got here after their new neighbor, Ying Ying, gave delivery to twins final month and have become the world’s oldest first-time panda mom on report.

With the addition of the brand new bears, the twins, and their father, Le Le, Hong Kong now homes six pandas.

Chief Government John Lee on Tuesday mentioned An An is a 5-year-old male panda who’s agile, clever and lively, whereas Ke Ke, a 5-year-old feminine, is nice at climbing, cute and has a mild temperament.

The brand new arrivals will endure two months of quarantine and adapt to their new house at Ocean Park, a zoo and aquarium that has lengthy been a favourite of residents and vacationers. Lee expressed hope that the general public might meet the brand new bears in mid-December.

In October, the federal government will invite residents to suggest new names that showcase the pandas’ traits.

Tourism business representatives are optimistic in regards to the potential affect of housing six pandas, hoping it can enhance customer numbers in Hong Kong. Officers have inspired companies to capitalize on the recognition of the brand new bears and new child cubs to grab alternatives in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economic system.”

Pandas are broadly thought-about China’s unofficial nationwide mascot. The nation’s big panda mortgage program with abroad zoos has lengthy been seen as a device of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy. Big pandas are solely present in China’s southwest and their inhabitants is below risk from improvement.

However caring for pandas in captivity is dear. A zoo in Finland agreed with Chinese language authorities to return two loaned big pandas to China greater than eight years forward of schedule as a result of they had been too expensive for the power to keep up amid declining guests.

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 it was handed again to China.

Jia Jia, who died at 38 in 2016, is the world’s oldest-ever panda to have lived in captivity. The common lifespan for a panda within the wild is eighteen to twenty years, whereas in captivity it’s 30 years, based on the Guinness World Data.