Officials, cheerful fans greet new panda pair in HK

A pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region arrived at their new home in Ocean Park Hong Kong on Thursday, taking the total number of the beloved bears in the city to six.

Pandas An An and Ke Ke, both born in June 2019, will spend around 30 days in quarantine and another 30 days adapting to their new environment before making their public debut during the Christmas holiday.

The pair arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday morning and were welcomed with a ceremony attended by SAR officials and a crowd of enthusiastic panda fans.

Like VIP guests, An An, male, and Ke Ke, female, were escorted to the theme park by the city's elite motorcycle police in the afternoon, and were welcomed to their new home with balloons, themed decorations, live music and cheerful fans waving panda-shaped cardboard cutouts.

Paulo Pong Kin-yee, chairman of Ocean Park, met with the media in the afternoon and said the pair will live in the expanded and renovated Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures facility at the park.