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Jack looking forward to use his annual pass to visit Ocean Park say 30+ days from this day, that is about 10 drive from home, to check out new residents arrived in good order
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Hong Kong’s 2 new giant pandas An An and Ke Ke touch down in city
Updated: 12:55pm, 26 Sep 2024
Bears get official welcome at ceremony attended by Chief Secretary Eric Chan and tourism minister Kevin Yeung at the airport
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Hong Kong is rolling out the red carpet on Thursday for a much-awaited pair of adult giant pandas gifted by Beijing.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki and tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung will welcome the bears at a ceremony at Hong Kong International Airport in the morning.
Male An An and female Ke Ke, as they are known in Sichuan province, are both aged five, the equivalent of 15 in human years.
They left the giant panda base in Dujiangyan at 3am, a day after Yeung, mainland Chinese officials and Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee saw them off with much fanfare.
Follow our updates as we track the pandas from Hong Kong airport to their new home at Ocean Park in Southern district.
Reporting by Denise Tsang, Lo Hoi-ying, Leopold Chen and William Yiu.
VIP escortA convoy of three trucks and a coach are seen travelling slowly on North Lantau Highway near the airport and escorted by elite police motorcyclists.
Police have cleared traffic to make way for the convoy.
Fan-tastic
Panda fan Fu Fan-wan, 59, is among early birds waiting at Ocean Park hours before the arrival of the pair.
Armed with a selfie stick, Fu is dressed in a panda T-shirt, has two panda bags and is wearing a mask – with a panda pattern. She also has a card case with a panda picture.
The Ocean Park band, consisting of a guitarist, a snare drummer and a trumpet player, are ready to perform at the entrance of the theme park to welcome An An and Ke Ke.
Fu Fan-wan waits for the pandas to arrive outside Ocean Park. Photo: Sam Tsang
Ocean Park band are set to perform when the pandas arrive to Ocean Park. Photo: Dickson Lee
What’s next?
Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong will meet the press at 2pm and update the public on the condition of the pandas. Stay tuned for the latest.
Giant pandas Ke Ke (left) and An An. Photo: Ocean Park
On the way to Ocean ParkThe pandas were offloaded from the cargo plane after about 20 minutes of inspection.
An An is seen peeking out of the cage on his way to a panda-themed truck.
They set off at around 12.30pm for Ocean Park, escorted by elite police motorcyclists.
A source said the truck would be driven slowly to the park in Wong Chuk Hang so that the pandas would not suffer motion sickness.
When will we see An An and Ke Ke?Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu earlier said the pandas would spend 30 days in quarantine at Ocean Park and be given another 30 days to adapt to the new environment.
Following that timetable, they will not be able to meet the public until mid-December at the earliest.
Ke Ke arrives at Hong Kong airport. Photo: Elson Li
‘Double happiness’: Hong Kong’s No 2An An and Ke Ke are welcomed at the airport by Chief Secretary Eric Chan, who says the pandas and the celebrations for the National Day period starting on October 1 will bring “double happiness”.
He thanked Cathay’s cargo services for sponsoring the transfer of the bears, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for a donation of HK$121 million to expand the panda infrastructure at Ocean Park and mainland authorities for the logistics and help.
Hong Kong’s No 2 Eric Chan (centre) and other dignitaries welcome the two pandas at the airport. Photo: Elson Li
First important task: health checksAround two dozen staff from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and Ocean Park have boarded the aircraft to conduct health checks on the two pandas.
Staff board the aircraft to conduct health checks on the two pandas. Photo: Elson Li
Arrived!
Welcome to Hong Kong, An An and Ke Ke!
The CX2061 flight carrying the two pandas from Chengdu touched down at 11.06am after a two-hour trip.
Two giant pandas gifted to the city by Beijing arrive at the airport. Photo: Elson Li
Buzz at Hong Kong airportAccording to online flight tracker Flightradar24, CX2061 took off at 9.04am and is estimated to touch down in Hong Kong at 11.06am.
Ground workers were racing to finish setting up a podium at around 10.30am on the apron of the airport in hot weather.
More than 100 people, including journalists, photographers and TV news crews, are waiting at the apron for the arrival of the giant pandas.
People wait for the pandas to touch down in Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li
Ocean Park perks
To celebrate the pair’s arrival, Ocean Park is giving away free panda-shaped ice cream bars for its annual pass members from Thursday to Saturday.
The park is also offering a 15 per cent discount for visitors who buy two annual passes or more. Each annual pass costs at least HK$833.
Panda personalities
The pandas are being accompanied on the two-hour flight by Sichuan experts Dong Li and Cheng Yanxi, along with caretakers from Ocean Park.
Dong described male An An as “optimistic and active”, while Matt, a “panda nanny” from Ocean Park, said on social media he was “huge but gentle”.
“From my observation, he’s quite curious about things around him and often goes on adventures!” Matt wrote on Instagram.
However, Dong and Matt had different takes on Ke Ke’s personality.
Matt said Ke Ke was a “little princess”, who enjoyed eating alone. But Dong described her as “feisty” and a talented climber.
“Ke Ke is a relatively petite female, but her personality is quite outgoing and rather feisty. She’s like what we call a ‘tough lady’,” Dong said.
Ocean Park’s zookeeper “Matt” (dressed in green), interacts with An An shortly before the bear is lifted to the cargo plane. Photo: ISD
Panda economy
Simon Yim, founding chairman of the Hong Kong Panda Education Foundation, said Hong Kong now had “panda mania”.
“A photo featuring the baby pandas by Ocean Park could go viral and there are some restaurants launching some meals based on the theme of pandas, and now we even have panda glutinous rice balls and panda latte coffee,” he said.
He suggested the Hong Kong government follow Chengdu to launch a panda-themed post office in the city.
“The products, ranging from postcards to stamps, were all panda themed [in the Chengdu’s post office]. If we can have such a post office in a tourist spot or a shop selling cultural and creative products with a panda theme, it will be attractive for tourists,” he said.
Wrapping up in Chengdu
An An and Ke Ke are being transported in cages, and will have their favourite food, bamboo shoots and apples, for the journey.
Workers wrapped the cages with plastic before they were lifted into the cargo plane. The plastic wrappers showed the pandas’ pictures and Ocean Park’s name and logo.
The cages of An An and Ke Ke are decorated with blue and red ribbons, respectively.
Holes in the wrappers allow fresh air in but they are too small for the pandas to see out.
A source told the Post that the design of the wrappers aimed to minimise the chance of the pandas becoming agitated in an alien environment.
The two pandas left for Hong Kong from Sichuan on Thursday morning. Photo: Handout
The cages are well wrapped for the journey. Photo: RTHK
Countdown to journeyOn Wednesday afternoon, Sichuan officials, Hong Kong tourism minister Kevin Yeung and Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong held a large-scale farewell ceremony for the giant pandas.
They said they were grateful for Beijing’s decision to gift Hong Kong the bears and the workers’ hard work to prepare the pandas for their journey to the city.
A busy day of travellingThe bears headed for Chengdu airport at 3am on Thursday.
They are taking Cathay Cargo flight CX2061, which had been scheduled to leave Chengdu at 8.55am and arrive in the city at 11.35am.
Upon arrival, they will be transferred in their cages into a truck, which will bring them to their permanent home at Ocean Park.
Pandas Ying Ying and Le Le, and the couple’s newborn twins, are already in the park.
‘Sichuan-flavoured’ food to help Hong Kong’s 2 incoming pandas adjust to new home
Pandas will be met by city’s No 2 official in a welcoming ceremony at Hong Kong airport
Published: 4:00pm, 25 Sep 2024Updated: 12:22am, 26 Sep 2024
Hometown flavours will accompany Hong Kong’s two incoming pandas on their journey from Sichuan province, handlers have revealed, as officials gave the pair a send-off on Wednesday.
Pandas An An and Ke Ke, gifted by Beijing to Hong Kong, will be met by Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki in a welcoming ceremony at the city’s airport on Thursday.
But a source said the two pandas would remain in their cages, which would be wrapped up throughout their journey to their new home at Ocean Park to prevent them from seeing outside and being scared by crowds.
Dong Li, who has taken care of An An and Ke Ke for 1½ years in Sichuan, said the pair, both aged five, had started to form a relationship with Ocean Park handlers, while he would bring “Sichuan-flavoured” food to Hong Kong to help the bears adjust.
“When they use Cantonese to call their names, [the pandas] demonstrate a clear reaction with their ears and hearing. This shows that they have established a preliminary relationship of trust,” Dong said in a media interview.
Young dancers perform at a farewell ceremony in Sichuan for the two Hong Kong-bound pandas. Photo: ISD
Dong will also fly to Hong Kong to take care of the pair for three to four months in their new home.
Veterinary surgeon Cheng Yanxi, who will also accompany the pandas, said the pair would have large amounts of food and sufficient water for the journey, while the cabin temperature would be controlled.
“We will also have some tranquillising drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs at hand. If the pandas react strongly, we will administer a small dose to calm them down,” Cheng said.
He said pandas could suffer from car-sickness, and that vehicles carrying them should avoid abrupt stops and turns. Their cages would be big enough to enable them to stand up, turn and roll around.
Another source said the bears would head for Chengdu airport at 3am on Thursday. They are scheduled to leave the airport on Cathay Cargo flight CX2061 at 8.55am and arrive in the city at 11.35am.
At Hong Kong airport, the two cages will be transferred directly to a truck, which will take the pandas to the theme park in Wong Chuk Hang.
“The driver will drive slowly all along the way to avoid the giant pandas feeling uncomfortable,” the source said. “But to avoid them being stimulated by what they see, they will not be able to see through the cages.”
That means the public will not be able to see the pandas on Thursday.
Elite police motorcyclists will be deployed to ensure the safe passage of the pandas.
Mainland caretakers and Ocean Park handlers who flew to Sichuan also offered a glimpse into the pandas’ personalities.
Dong described male An An as “optimistic and active”, while Matt, a “panda nanny” from Ocean Park, said on social media he was “huge but gentle”.
“From my observation, he’s quite curious about things around him and often goes on adventures!” Matt wrote on Instagram.
However, Dong and Matt had different takes on female panda Ke Ke’s personality.
Matt said Ke Ke was a “little princess”, who enjoyed eating alone. But Dong described her as “feisty” and a talented climber.
“Ke Ke is a relatively petite female, but her personality is quite outgoing and rather feisty. She’s like what we call a ‘tough lady’,” Dong said.
Tourism chief Kevin Yeung addresses the ceremony in Sichuan. Photo: ISD
Tourism chief Kevin Yeung Yun-hung was among those attending the ceremony at the giant panda base in Dujiangyan on Wednesday and thanked Beijing for gifting the two bears to Hong Kong.
Li Desheng, deputy director of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Sichuan, said the pair were in “good condition” and that Ocean Park would require retrofitting to boost the chance of successful mating.
The pair would need 30 days of quarantine upon their arrival and another month to adapt to the new environment before meeting the public in December, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.
Lee said the city would hold a contest next month to name the two bears.
Beijing announced it was gifting the two pandas to Hong Kong on July 1 to mark the 27th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty. Both were born in June 2019.
With the arrival of the duo on Thursday, the number of pandas at Ocean Park will reach six after Ying Ying gave birth to a pair of twins, a male and a female, last month. |
