Giant pandas attract visitors at their new homes

Nine giant pandas that have moved to their new homes in east China's Jiangsu Province attracted numerous visitors amid the country's eight-day holiday.

China celebrates its National Day on October 1, and the week-long holiday this year has been extended to October 8 as it overlapped with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

The giant panda hall of the Ziqing Lake tourist resort, in the provincial capital Nanjing, has received more than 3,000 visits every day for the holiday, said Yang Xinyi, deputy general manager of the resort.

The hall, located in Tangshan, a renowned tourist destination in Nanjing, was closed to visitors earlier this year because of the COVID-19 epidemic, and to receive tourists, the park has taken measures including body temperature measuring and regular disinfection in the giant panda hall.

Ten black-and-white bears, including six returning from abroad, took flights to Nanjing from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, in late August last year, a move to create a new breeding base for the rare species.

The oldest one, 22-year-old Xi Xi, returned to Chengdu on August 31 this year.

"Xi Xi's breeder shed tears when she left, and many visitors during the holiday kept asking about her recent condition," said Yang.

Shi Guoyin, a breeder, said he was proud that the giant pandas, with a habitable living environment and nutritional food provided, have gained some weight.

Qiu Yang, one of the visitors, planned to take his family back for a visit again.

"We have taken a hot spring bath, tasted yummy food, visited the giant pandas, enjoyed horse riding, and watched a firework show here, with the giant pandas definitely our favorite," he said.