Giant panda twins to make public debut in HK

2025-01-21 Ecns.cn Editor：Li Yan

Giant panda twins play at Ocean Park in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. (Photo/HK Ocean Park)

(ECNS) -- The first Hong Kong-born giant panda twins are expected make their public debut on Feb. 16, 2025, a day after they turn six months, at Ocean Park, said John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region during a press conference on Tuesday.

The two cubs were born on Aug. 15, 2024 to 19-year-old Ying Ying, gifted by the central government in 2007 and considered the world’s oldest first-time panda mother. This marks the first panda birth in the city since Hong Kong received its first pair of giant pandas from Sichuan Province in 1999.

Nicknamed “Gaaze” (or "Elder sister" in Cantonese) and “Sailou” (Little brother), the twins have yet to be officially named. The female weighed 122 grams at birth and weighed5.3 kilograms at 100 days, while the boy has grown from 112 grams at birth to 5.5 kilograms in the same period.

"I call for a naming event. We hope everyone in society shares the happiness of the panda family. A naming event can bring in more warmth and joy," Lee said.