To celebrate the Lantern Festival, which fell on Saturday this year, animals in Shanghai and Heilongjiang Province enjoyed special yuanxiao.
Yuanxiao, a kind of sweet glutinous rice ball, is an essential treat for the traditional festival, but the versions for animals are quite different.
Keepers used salmon, capelin, and other raw materials with spherical ice cubes and decorative dishes to make special yuanxiao for animals such as orcas, dolphins, beluga whales, and sea lions at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. Such a combination can allow marine animals to supplement protein and drink more water.
Keepers at Harbin Polar Park also prepared special yuanxiao for penguins and polar bears on Saturday. Penguins tasted yuanxiao made of imported krill, while polar bears ate big yuanxiao wrapped with tender eggs. Tourists stopped to watch and take photos of the rare sight.
(Reported by Xu Yin, Liu Lu; Edited by Jiang Lu)