Pandas living abroad · Japan | Three giant pandas attract numerous devoted fans in Tokyo

The Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, is home to Chinese pandas Xiang Xiang, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei. During the epidemic, the zoo is only open to 2,000 visitors per day by appointment, but there is a constant stream of Japanese people lining up to get in touch with the pandas.

Cute, round and sleepy ...... three giant pandas are especially popular among children. In fact, they are the children of Ri Ri and Shin Shin, the giant pandas who went to Tokyo in 2011, of which the eldest daughter, Xiang Xiang, was born in 2017, and Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who were born in 2021, are male-female giant panda twins. Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei have been loved since they were born. Since August last year, the Tokyo metropolitan government has sought names for this pair of giant pandas. The names "Xiao Xiao" and "Lei Lei" were chosen from a list of about 190,000 names, which are said to mean "the rising sun will guide the future".

Japanese people are overwhelmed with love for giant pandas. Earlier, a huge five-story poster was hung outside a department store building in Ueno, Tokyo to celebrate Xiang Xiang's 5th birthday. The local merchants also took advantage of Xiang Xiang's birthday to launch a series of discount promotions and games activities to attract customers. According to Japanese experts, Xiang Xiang has brought at least HK$2.9 billion in economic effects to Japan.

The Tokyo metropolitan government announced on November 18th that the return of the giant panda Xiang Xiang to China has been postponed from December 31 this year to mid-February to early March next year due to the epidemic. This is the fifth time Xiang Xiang's return to China has been postponed.