Giant panda returns from South Korea

Giant panda Fu Bao arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan province on Wednesday, returning from South Korea.

Accompanied by veterinarians and caregivers from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and Everland Park of South Korea, Fu Bao headed to the isolation and quarantine area.

Born in July 2020, the female cub was the first giant panda born in South Korea and a successful example of overseas breeding through online guidance for natural conception by experts at the giant panda center. Since the 1990s, China has collaborated on giant panda conservation with 26 institutions in 20 countries. There are currently 49 giant pandas abroad.

According to the agreement on giant panda protection and research cooperation, overseas-born giant panda cubs are to return to China between the ages of 2 and 4. Fu Bao's return was scheduled for this year. According to Everland Park, over 1,000 visitors came daily to bid farewell to her before the scheduled departure.

Wei Rongping, deputy director of the giant panda center, said that when giant pandas return to China, they have to adapt to a new environment, caregivers and food.

In preparation for Fu Bao's return, the giant panda center has set up a quarantine facility at the Wolong Shenshuping Base. During the isolation and quarantine period, a team of experts will help it adapt to its new living environment.

Fu Bao's parents arrived at the park in March 2016 from the giant panda center in China, marking the beginning of collaborative research between the two countries. After giving birth to Fu Bao in 2020, they bred another pair of female twin cubs in July last year.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated at a news conference in January that since its birth, Fu Bao has been deeply loved by people and has played a positive role in enhancing friendship between the two nations.

According to the giant panda center, China and South Korea have cooperated in the fields of giant panda conservation and breeding, disease prevention and control, and public education over the past eight years, effectively promoting the conservation of endangered and vulnerable species in both countries.