Hong Kong shows 2,500 pandasculars for panda euphoria

Hong Kong shows 2,500 pandasculars for panda euphoria

From this Saturday, Hong Kong will be welcomed by thousands of huge pandas sculptures after the enthusiasm for the bears in the city has grown in a local amusement park since the birth of two twins. These impressive 2,500 exhibits were on Monday as part of the opening ceremony of panda go! Fest HK , the largest Panda themed exhibition of the city, presented.

venues and highlights

The sculptures are exhibited at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, a popular shopping area, before they will be shown at three other locations during the month. A planned location is Ocean Park, home of the twins, their parents and two other pandas, which were given by Beijing this year. The design of six of the sculptures made from recycled rubber fass and resins as well as other materials was inspired by these bears.

The importance of the pandas for Hong Kong

The birth of the twins in August made her mother Ying Ying the oldest panda mother in the world. It is expected that the little pandas can meet visitors in February at the earliest. In a separate media event on Monday, the two new pandas, which were gifted from Beijing, showed and KE KE, which arrived in September, was also relaxed in their new home in Ocean Park. It enjoyed eating bamboo in front of the cameras while Ke Ke climbed on an installation. You will be presented to the public on Sunday.

the panda-shaped economy

The exhibitions reflect Hong Kong's efforts to use the pandas to revive the economy, while the Chinese financial center is working to recapture its position as one of the best travel destinations in Asia. Pandas are considered the unofficial national mascot of China and the country's panda loan program with zoo abroad has long been seen as an instrument of the soft power policy at Beijings.

hopes for tourism

representatives of the Hong -Congic tourism industry are optimistic about the possible effects of the inclusion of six pandas and hope to increase the number of visitors, although the care of pandas is expensive. Officials have encouraged companies to use the popularity of the bears and to take the possibilities of the so-called "panda economy".

Special sculptures and charity actions

The organizer of the exhibitions also invited well-known personalities, including the musician Pharrell Williams, to create special panda designs. Most of these special sculptures are auctioned online and the proceeds are donated to Ocean Park to support the efforts to protect the large pandas.

The Panda story in Hong Kong

Ying Ying and the father of the twins, Le Le, are the second panda couple that Beijing Hong Kong has given the Chinese regime in 1997 since the return of the former British colony. The first couple, on and Jia Jia, arrived in 1999. Jia Jia, who died in 2016 at the age of 38, is considered the oldest panda who has ever lived in captivity.

lifespan of the pandas

According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, the average lifespan of a panda in wilderness is 14 to 20 years, while Pandas can be up to 30 years old.