TOKYO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) — On the event of the fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, Japan lately launched a set of two commemorative stamps bearing photos of big pandas.
The big panda is revered as a nationwide treasure of China and the “ambassador” for friendship between the 2 Asian neighbors, witnessing the pleasant exchanges between China and Japan for half a century.
On Oct. 28, 1972, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo celebrated the arrival of a pair of big pandas, Kang Kang and his companion, Lan Lan, as a present from China to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, sparking an unprecedented panda craze within the nation.
So many Japanese panda followers went to the Haneda airport to obtain the panda couple arriving by a constitution flight or to the Ueno Zoo to see the pandas in person who police vehicles needed to clear the way in which out from the airport to the zoo that day.
The Japanese public welcomed the pair enthusiastically, with over 60,000 guests crowding the zoo when Kang Kang and Lan Lan made their debut on Nov. 5 of that 12 months.
The annual variety of guests to the zoo, which stood at round 4 million earlier than their arrival, soared to a document excessive of 9.2 million in 1973.
Fifty years later, the Japanese public’s fascination with big pandas by no means ends. Every time the large panda household on the Ueno Zoo welcomes a brand new cub, it not solely makes news headlines and causes a sensation in Japan, but in addition brings appreciable financial advantages to the encompassing eating places and retailers.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, the dual panda cubs born on the Zoo in June 2021, made their public debut on Jan. 12 this 12 months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just one,080 fortunate winners have been chosen in a raffle to fulfill the pandas on the zoo exhibit, with the possibilities of successful being one in 348.
Ms. Arai visiting from the town of Yokohama expressed her needs that the friendship between Japan and China will final eternally with big pandas as a bond.
Currently, there are 13 big pandas residing in Japan. Among them, 5 live within the Adventure World theme park within the city of Shirahama in western Japan’s Wakayama Prefecture, the most important big panda household within the nation.
On Nov. 22, 2020, the Adventure World welcomed the seventeenth big panda cub Fuhin to the massive household. Its mom Rauhin, who has given start seven occasions to 10 cubs, is the primary big panda born within the park. Fuhin’s father Eimei, who simply turned 30 years previous in September this 12 months, has been setting the world document for the oldest male big panda to have naturally fathered cubs whereas in captivity.
All the 17 panda cubs born at totally different occasions on the Adventure World park have a “hin” of their names. They signify the most important captive big panda inhabitants abroad. Eleven pandas born there have been despatched again to China as agreed on in contracts.
The park mentioned the achievement was made potential by years of worldwide analysis cooperation with China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding relationship again to 1994.
When Fuhin was born in 2020, researchers on the Chengdu analysis base have been unable to journey to Japan to assist as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. The workers employees from either side made meticulous preparations to obtain the newborn panda, exchanging info on-line, and the Chengdu consultants provided real-time recommendation. The cooperation made Fuhin the primary panda cub delivered independently by the Japanese workers of the park.
In a latest interview with Xinhua, Koji Imazu, the park’s director, mentioned that he hopes the cooperation on big panda breeding can be additional deepened between Japan and China sooner or later.
In Japan’s western metropolis of Kobe, in the meantime, a feminine big panda named Tan Tan residing in Oji Zoo celebrated her twenty seventh birthday On Sept. 16, which is the equal age of about 80 in human years.
In 1995, Kobe metropolis suffered heavy losses within the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Tan Tan was despatched by the Chinese aspect to Kobe in July 2000 as a option to help the town’s restoration after the earthquake and gave cheer to quake-affected kids and plenty of different residents.
Yujiro Kako, director of the zoo, mentioned in a latest interview with Xinhua that Tan Tan is sort of a “champion” within the zoo who’s all the time the focal point.
Kako mentioned her arrival set off a panda craze in Kobe on the time, attracting large numbers of holiday makers to the zoo, noting that many followers believed that seeing Tan Tan instills braveness into their hearts after over 20 years.
“The giant panda is a symbol of Japan-China friendship. For 22 years, Tan Tan has been loved by people in Japan and around the world,” Kako mentioned, including that Kobe Oji Zoo has all the time had relationship with the Chinese aspect and hopes that this relationship will proceed sooner or later.