Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes delight pandas on birthday

The Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) celebrates the birthday of pandas in Ya’an, southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday. (Photo: China News Service/An Yuan)

(ECNS)-- Incorporating Mid-Autumn Festival elements, steamed corn bread were crafted into mooncake shapes to celebrate the birthday of pandas at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Ya’an, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Caretakers considered factors such as the panda age, personality, health, dietary preferences, and safety to offer them an abundant selection of gifts, including mooncake-shaped steamed corn bread, fruit platters, and bamboo shoot cakes.

It is reported that the concentrated breeding season for captive giant pandas falls between July to September each year, which also encompasses their birthdays.

To make the living environment more enriching and and interesting for the pandas, CCRCGP experts designed plans tailored to their different life stages.

U.S.-born panda Bei Bei. who returned to China in 2019, received baskets of fruits and vegetables at its enclosure, with corn on the cobs hung from branches. Caretaker Zhu Wen said that "Bei Bei" is usually full of energy, not only enthusiastic about climbing trees but also particularly fond of "playing in the mud."

Similarly, two four-year-old panda brothers "Jiayang" and "Jiabai," who also love playing in the mud, were treated to an activity themed around a "chess match" for their birthday. After some playful interaction, the brothers climbed onto their resting place, which was decorated with fruits, fresh bamboo, and special mooncakes.

Xiang Xiang also received exclusive mooncakes as part of its gifts. It was born in 2017 at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo and returned to China in 2023. According to caretaker Zhao Lanlan, since arriving at the panda base, it has been in good health and has a good appetite.

A Japanese panda lover “Keiko Yamamoto” (transliteration from Chinese) has closely followed the panda family of Bili, named Ri Ri in Japan, Xiannu, named Shin Shin in Japan, and Xiang Xiang for many years.

“Xiang Xiang is still as beautiful as ever, and this reunion joy fills me with great excitement,” said Keiko Yamamoto to China News Service.

On the same day, more than twenty giant pandas, including Lulu and Hanhan, made their appearances at the panda base.