Hangzhou Zoo welcomes two new pandas from Chengdu
After three years of preparation, the Giant Panda House of Hangzhou Zoo rolled out the welcome mat for two new pandas, Chun Sheng (春生, born in spring) and Xiang Guo (香果, fragrant fruit) from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, last week.
Since the pandas Cheng Jiu (成就, achievement) and Shuang Hao (双好, double good) returned to their hometown of Chengdu almost four years ago, the Giant Panda House has been vacant.
The Hangzhou Zoo was approved by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration to popularize scientific knowledge about panda in the following three years.
Two new pandas have arrived at the Hangzhou Zoo.
The two new pandas, both born in 2020, are on loan from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which qualified the Hangzhou Zoo to raise pandas after a series of rigid evaluations and verification.
The Hangzhou Zoo officially started to construct the Giant Panda House in 2021, upgrading facilities and giving a facelift to the facade before ushering in the sixth generation of pandas to the zoo.
Compared with the previous venue, the newly built house is located in the center of the zoo with tranquil surroundings and lush vegetation. The venue adopted a reinforced concrete structure with a construction area of about 700 square meters, including two indoor playgrounds, two outdoor playgrounds and four living rooms.
The inner section also contains a 240-square-meter science exhibition hall, as well as rooms for therapy, bamboo and bamboo shoot storage, and cleaning.
The house has been equipped with air conditioners and fresh air systems, which can lower temperatures on sizzling days and keep the pandas warm in chilly weather, guaranteeing a comfortable living environment all year around.
Chun Sheng, male
Xiang Guo, female
In a bid to enrich pastime activities for the pandas, the zoo has installed log perches, rockeries and pools, and plants and flowers in the playgrounds.
Organizers also set up a science education area, which makes the house available to the public to learn more about pandas.
In 1975, the Hangzhou Zoo welcomed pandas Ying Ying and Pei Pei, which began the relationship between pandas and Hangzhou. Local citizens had a deep affection for the pair.
Ying Ying was outgoing and lively, while Pei Pei was introverted and gentle, and often sat quietly eating apples. After living in the zoo for more than 20 years, Ying Ying passed away in 1996. Thereafter, Pei Pei became quieter, more reclusive, and lived to be 31 years old, which was the equivalent of a human centenarian.
After Pei Pei died, the Hangzhou Zoo cooperated with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to raise Cheng Cheng in 2004. Since then, Ya Lin, Cheng Da, Cheng Xiao, Cheng Jiu and Shuang Hao have lived at the Hangzhou Zoo.
