Panda cubs make debut to mark start of spring

"They kept smelling and biting the new toys, and it was apparent that they liked the train and castle," said Zhang Guiquan, a panda expert at the base, which was set up in 1980 under an agreement between the World Wide Fund for Nature, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, and the Chinese government.

The average age of the 10 cubs is around 6 months, with the oldest twin sisters being more than 190 days and the youngest being more than 120 days.