News Panda diplomacy: teary farewell to Xiang Xiang

[thomas]

Last Tuesday, Xiang Xiang, the first giant panda born and raised at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens in nearly three decades, was sent home to China after years of delays, in an emotional moment for the fans and staff who watched her grow. "Xiang Xiang was a much-longed-for baby," said Tadao Futatsugi, honorary chairman of the Ueno Tourism Federation. "She was like a ray of hope for Ueno."

Japan's first giant pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, became an overnight sensation when they arrived at the Ueno Zoo from China in 1972 to mark the normalization of ties between the two countries. It would be more than three decades before the zoo was left pandaless again with the death of Ling Ling in 2008. A new couple, Shin Shin and Ri Ri, arrived at the zoo in 2011. Their first cub, born in 2012, died after only a few days. Their second, Xiang Xiang, was the first panda to be born and raised at Ueno in 29 years. [...] Since the departure date was set in late December, the Ueno Zoo has been flooded with people eager for one last look, with 296,000 visiting in January alone. The wait ran as long as four hours on Jan. 20, the last day before the zoo began limiting visits through a lottery system. The final day of the lottery, Feb. 19, ended up with 24 times as many applicants as available slots.

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Japan bids farewell to beloved panda Xiang Xiang

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asia.nikkei.com

Japan bids teary farewell to pandas sent to reserve in China

Japanese panda fans bid teary farewells to their idols Xiang Xiang, “super papa” Eimei and his twin daughters who were sent to China on Tuesday to swap their home at the zoo for a protected facility in Sichuan province. Hundreds of people who waited outside Tokyo's Ueno Zoo took photos,…

japantoday.com