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South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's twin baby panda cubs named Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's nine-month-old twin panda cubs - previously known only as 'Elder Sister' and 'Younger Brother' - have been named Jia Jia and De De, respectively. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui announced on Tuesday the results of the panda naming contest, which received more than 35,700 entries from the public since submissions opened in February. The Chinese characters for Jia Jia convey a message of support - 'add oil' in Cantonese - and are pronounced the same as the words 'home' and 'auspices' in Mandarin, the park said. 'Younger Brother' has been named De De, after the Chinese word meaning 'success'. De shares the same pronunciation as the Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation for 'virtue'. Jia Jia is also the English name of another panda who lived at Ocean Park until her death in 2016, although the Chinese characters for the name of 'Elder Sister' are different. Hong Kong's giant panda Ying Ying makes history as oldest first-time mum Ocean Park's chairman, Paulo Pong Kin-yee, said visitor numbers and revenue had increased during the Easter and Labour Day holidays. 'What's worth noting is that the per-cap spending has also increased,' he said. 'We feel that this will continue well into the summer.' He added that the park had benefited from increased exposure and intellectual property fees brought in by the Panda Friends series' product sales. 'It's been a very good first half of the year for the park,' he said. The panda twin cubs made their public debut on February 16. Photo: Eugene Lee Pong also noted that exclusive VIP tours, which allowed visitors to see the twin cubs, generated more than HK$2 million (US$255,177) in March and April. The tours, which cost HK$1,500 per person, provided visitors early access to the facilities and a half-hour to capture pictures of the cubs. Ocean Park earlier said that the nicknames 'Elder Sister' and 'Younger Brother' would remain, while the Mandarin pinyin of the selected Chinese names would be adopted as the English names. Pong said that the cubs already weighed more than 21kg (46lbs) and visitors no longer had to be separated by a glass panel when visiting them in their new enclosure. The enclosure will be open from 10am to 4.30pm daily starting on Wednesday for visitors to catch the twins together with their mother. Hong Kong's Golden Week draws mainland tourists with pandas and bun festival The twins' father, Le Le, is housed at the Giant Panda Adventure but separate from Ying Ying and the twins, in line with their natural solitary behaviour, according to Ocean Park. The cubs have been drawing fans to the enclosure every day since they made their public debut on February 16, six months after they were born on August 15 last year. Ying Ying became the oldest first-time panda mother in captivity when she gave birth to the cubs. The journey to parenthood for Ying Ying and Le Le took more than 10 years, with multiple phantom pregnancies and miscarriages.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hong Kong's Baby Pandas Finally Get Names. Meet Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. The names of the cubs, affectionately known as "Elder Sister" and "Little Brother," were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries. The Chinese character "Jia," from the female cub's name "Jia Jia," carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said. The Chinese character "De," from the male cub's name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people. Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas' English names. He said "Jia" sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while "De De" sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers. "It's a very positive pair of names," he said. "We have to be a bit creative here with the names." The twins' birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world's oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the "panda economy." Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) last financial year. The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons. Pandas are considered China's unofficial national mascot. The country's giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing's soft-power diplomacy.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Hong Kong's baby pandas finally get names – meet Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. The names of the cubs, affectionately known as Elder Sister and Little Brother, were announced in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas who arrived from mainland China last year. Advertisement Giant panda Ying Ying, left, and her daughter Jia Jia in their enclosure in Ocean Park in Hong Kong (Chan Long Hei/AP) The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries. The Chinese character Jia, from the female cub's name Jia Jia, carries a message of support and is said to feature an element of family and a sense of grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said. The Chinese character De, from the male cub's name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting that giant pandas possessed virtues cherished by Chinese people. Jia Jia's name is said to carry a message of support (Chan Long Hei/AP) Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they had followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas' English names. He said Jia sounded like a word in the Cantonese term for 'elder sister', while De De sounded a bit like the Cantonese phrase for 'little brother'. Advertisement Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers. 'It's a very positive pair of names,' he said. 'We have to be a bit creative here with the names.' The cubs attracted visitors on Tuesday who lined up to see them (Chan Long Hei/AP) The cubs, who live with their mother, attracted visitors on Tuesday who lined up to see them. Jia Jia explored a rock and walked around their area, while De De climbed onto a tall tree. Advertisement The twins' birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world's oldest first-time panda mother. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the 'panda economy'. Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars (£6.7 million) last financial year. The pandas' names were announced in a ceremony at Ocean Park (Chan Long Hei/AP) The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Mr Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through the summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons. Pandas are considered China's unofficial national mascot. The country's giant panda loan programme with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing's soft-power diplomacy. Advertisement
CNN
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Hong Kong's baby pandas finally get names. Meet Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. The names of the cubs, affectionately known as 'Elder Sister' and 'Little Brother,' were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries. The Chinese character 'Jia,' from the female cub's name 'Jia Jia,' carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said. The Chinese character 'De,' from the male cub's name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people. Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas' English names. He said 'Jia' sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while 'De De' sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers. 'It's a very positive pair of names,' he said. 'We have to be a bit creative here with the names.' The twins' birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world's oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the 'panda economy.' Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) last financial year. The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons. Pandas are considered China's unofficial national mascot. The country's giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing's soft-power diplomacy.
CNN
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Hong Kong's baby pandas finally get names. Meet Jia Jia and De De
Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De. The names of the cubs, affectionately known as 'Elder Sister' and 'Little Brother,' were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries. The Chinese character 'Jia,' from the female cub's name 'Jia Jia,' carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said. The Chinese character 'De,' from the male cub's name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people. Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas' English names. He said 'Jia' sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while 'De De' sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers. 'It's a very positive pair of names,' he said. 'We have to be a bit creative here with the names.' The twins' birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world's oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents, visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the 'panda economy.' Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) last financial year. The park recorded a nearly 40% growth in visitor flow and 40% increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons. Pandas are considered China's unofficial national mascot. The country's giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing's soft-power diplomacy.
