Giant panda Beibei (R) plays with its mother Meixiang at National Zoological Park in Washington D.C., the United States, Aug. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)
As giant panda cub Bei Bei living in Washington National Zoo turns one year old on Monday, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan sent a message to wish him a healthy and happy childhood.
"As Bei Bei's first birthday draws near, I am sending greetings from China, the home country of pandas half a world away," Peng said in a statement.
"Giant panda is China's national treasure. Bei Bei's birth is the fruit of collaboration between China and the United States and a strong symbol of our friendship," she said.
"I would also like to say a big thank you to the staff of the National Zoo for taking good care of Bei Bei and to all American friends who love and cherish pandas," said Peng.
Peng recalled her visit last September with U.S. first lady Michelle Obama to the zoo and jointly named Bei Bei, which means "precious treasure" in Chinese. She was in town accompanying her husband, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was on his first state visit to the United States at the time.
"Time flies! Now, Bei Bei is one year old. From the other side of the Pacific, together with all Chinese who love Bei Bei, I wish him a healthy and happy childhood!" she said.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama also celebrated Bei Bei's birthday via social media on Saturday.
"Today we celebrate the @NationalZoo's 'precious treasure' as he turns one year old. Happy birthday, Bei Bei!" Michelle twittered.
For the cute cub's first birthday, officials from the zoo and Chinese Embassy in the U.S. threw a big Zhuazhou party on Saturday. Zhuazhou is a popular traditional ceremony in China for families and relatives to observe a one-year-old baby's own choice from a number of symbolic objects so as to foretell something about the baby's future.
Early on Saturday morning, three posters with painted symbols, peaches for long life, bamboos for green habitat and Chinese red knot for good luck and friendship, were hung on bamboo branches in Bei Bei's yard. With the help of his mother Mei Xiang and amid hearty laughter from hundreds of visitors, Bei Bei put "good luck and friendship" as his first choice.
"He is so cute and funny. Everybody loves panda. They are best animals in the zoo," Courtney Smith, who has been working at the panda house of the zoo as a volunteer for ten years, told Xinhua.
At noontime, Bei Bei was served a big frozen tiered cake specially made with diluted juice and water tinted with food coloring. However, the plump young cub was quite sleepy at the time, his mother Mei Xiang enjoyed much of the cake alone.
Bei Bei, weighing almost 70.4 pounds (32 kilos), was born on August 22, 2015 and is the second cub born to giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian.
