Hong Kong’s first-ever locally born giant panda twins, Jia Jia and De De, turned 1 year old on Friday, and the city marked the occasion with a fine bash, jam-packed with festivities, giveaways and special events.
The highlight of the celebration was the presence of the birthday duo — born on 15 Aug 2024 — who attended their heartwarming party from inside Hong Kong Ocean Park’s Giant Panda Adventure enclosure on the day.
Fronting the park’s iconic Lagoon Platform, a giant dim sum steamer — with a peach-shaped longevity pastry, flanked by a welcoming pair of pandas — delighted the crowd, many of whom had willingly queued for up to half an hour before the park opened at 10 am to snap some photos.
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Jia Jia and De De are the offspring of Ying Ying and Le Le — pandas that were gifted to the special administrative region by the central government in 2007. Together with An An and Ke Ke — both gifted to the city by the central government in 2024 — Hong Kong is now home to six giant pandas, representing the largest home for pandas outside the Chinese mainland, and making the city a premier panda tourism destination.
At the birthday party for the twins, 20 Hong Kong children who share the cubs’ birthday — as well as their families — enjoyed a private screening of a new documentary trailer about the cubs, and met the pandas’ caretakers to hear stories and anecdotes about how the animals are behaving as they grow up.
Ocean Park added to the joy with new panda-themed, limited-edition merchandise, including the twins’ birthday stamps, headbands, and badges, as well as 2,000 longevity noodle giveaways — a touch of traditional Chinese culture — to bring good fortune.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and Hong Kong Tourism Board have been amplifying the joy citywide, joining forces to transform the city into “one giant birthday party” since earlier this year.
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This includes organizing of various events such as a panda-themed ferry, which debuted at Victoria Harbour on Wednesday, collaborations like the special bamboo-inspired LABUBU doll with creator Kasing Lung, as well as ensuring various exclusive panda-inspired goods are on shelves across the city’s gift shops.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
