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Two pandas celebrate their first birthday on Hainan

The big panda is known as an unofficial symbol of China

HAIKOU, August 21. /TASS/. Two big panda males Gong Gong and Shunshun celebrated their birthday on August 18 for the first time in the Hainan Province, which has become their new home since 2018, Xinhua reported.

The six-year-old pandas, born on the same day, left China's Sichuan province in November 2018. Currently, they are being kept in the Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden.

On the famous pandas' birthday, their enclosures were decorated with balloons and colorful ribbons. A local musical band performed joyful songs for them, and the children greeted their favorites in themed costumes. The park's staff prepared a six-layer festive cake for the bamboo bears, lined with ice cubes and decorated with carrots with bamboo leaves.

"On the birthday of Gong Gong and Shunshun, the park’s attendance increased by 20%. For the bears, their sixth birthday was a significant moment, since pandas are usually considered adults at this age," the agency quoted Park Director Shang Xiao.

The big panda is known as an unofficial symbol of China and is protected by the state. About 1,800 bamboo bears now live in the wilderness. They mainly live in the highlands of southwestern Sichuan, where bamboo forests have been preserved. Various nurseries and zoos contain about 180 species. The Chinese authorities have set the goal to bring the total population of pandas living in the wilderness to more than 2,000 species by 2025.

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