Japanese fans cheer at meeting giant panda Xiang Xiang virtually

In 1972, China's giant pandas Kang Kang and Lan Lan set foot on Japanese soil for the first time and came to live in the Ueno Zoo, sparking a wave of panda fever and becoming one of the iconic events in the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. In the long history of Ueno Zoo, the most popular attraction has always been pandas.

In 2017, Xiang Xiang was born at Ueno Zoo, attracting many visitors as she grew up. Thanks to Xiang Xiang, the number of visitors to Ueno Zoo exceeded 2 million in 2018, said Yutaka Fukuda, director of Ueno Zoological Gardens.

"Xiang Xiang lived in Ueno Zoo for five and a half years. During this period, we accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience about giant pandas. Last year, she returned to China to prepare to become a mother. We heard that the staff at the panda base in Ya'an took very good care of her, and she quickly adapted to the local life, meeting the public again in October 2023. Xiang Xiang's birth, growth, and return to China have significant meanings," Fukuda said.

In 2021, Ueno Zoo welcomed two more panda cubs, Xiang Xiang's younger brother and sister. Ueno Zoo will further strengthen cooperation with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda to contribute to the cause of panda conservation and the development of friendly relations between China and Japan, Fukuda said.

Panda cooperation has always been an important platform for people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan, leaving behind many wonderful stories to promote friendly relations between the two countries, said Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao.