2,500 exhibits were displayed at the launch event of PANDA GO! FEST HK, the city’s largest panda-themed exhibition, at Hong Kong Airport on Monday. They will go on public display on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, a popular shopping district, this weekend, before setting foot in three other locations this month.
A designated place is Ocean Park, where the twin cubs, their parents and Two more pandas donated by Beijing this year These bears inspired the design of the six sculptures made of recycled rubber barrels and resins, among others.
The cubs – born in August made their mother Ying Ying the world’s oldest panda mother for the first time – can meet visitors in February.
At a media preview event on Monday, the new pair of pandas An An and Ke Ke, who arrived in September as a gift from Beijing, appeared relaxed in their new home in Ocean Park. An An enjoyed eating bamboo in front of the cameras and Ke Ke went up to a facility. They will meet with the public on Sunday.
The displays reflect Hong Kong’s use of pandas to boost its economy as China’s financial hub works to regain its position as one of Asia’s top tourist destinations.
Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country’s giant panda loan program with foreign zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing. soft-power diplomacy.
Representatives of Hong Kong’s tourism industry are happy about the potential impact of the six panda houses, which they hope will increase the number of visitors. Caring for pandas in captivity is expensive. Officials have encouraged businesses to take advantage of the bear’s popularity to take advantage of what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economy.”
The organizers of the exhibitions also invited a number of famous personalities, including the musician Pharrell Williams, to create unique panda designs. Most of these unique sculptures will be auctioned online for charity with proceeds going to Ocean Park to support giant panda conservation efforts.
Ying Ying and the twins’ father, Le Le, are the second pair of pandas given to Hong Kong by Beijing since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The first pair were An An and Jia Jia who arrived in 1999. Jia Jia, who He died in 2016 at the age of 38. He is the world’s oldest panda to have lived in captivity.
The average lifespan of a panda is between 14 and 20 years in the wild, and up to 30 years in captivity, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
