A pair of 5-year-old pandas, named An An and Ke Ke, celebrated their first Christmas early in a Hong Kong park on Monday, enjoying special treats and posing adorably for cameras.
An An, the male panda, received a “Merry Christmas” ice slab made from sweet potato and carrots, while Ke Ke, his female companion, got a snowman decorated with carrot and apple slices. at a special press event before visitors flocked to the park.
China shipped the pair to Hong Kong in late September in a bid to boost tourism in the city. They were quarantined for a couple of months before making their debut to enthusiastic visitors at the city’s Ocean Park theme park, joining four other pandas.
An An is described as intelligent and active, while Ke Ke is known for having a gentle temperament and being a good climber.
Pandas are seen as the unofficial mascot of China, as they They are only found in the southwest of the country and their population is threatened by development. The Chinese government actively breeds pandas as part of a national program. It also loans these animals through an international program with foreign zoos as a kind of soft diplomacy.
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has been home to pandas since 1999, when the first pair, An An and Jia Jia, arrived in that former British colony shortly after it returned to China.