The 31st birthday party of the giant panda Yongming was held in Wakayama.
On September 14th, the audience attended the 31st birthday party of the giant panda Yongming at the Baibang Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Consulate General of China in Osaka)
Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, September 14th (Reporter Yang Guang) Shirahama Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan held a 31st birthday party for the giant panda Yongming online and offline on the 14th. More than a thousand Japanese people attended the event, and nearly 10,000 viewers watched the live broadcast through the Internet.
"Yongming" was born on September 14th, 1992, and went to live in Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan on September 6th, 1994. On February 22nd this year, Yongming returned to chengdu research base of giant panda with his twin daughters Sakura Bang and Taobang. On December 17th, 2022, Xue Jian, Consul General of China in Osaka, awarded the title of "Yongming" and "Special Envoy for China-Friendship".
In order to meet the urgent need of Japanese giant panda fans to know about the current situation of Yongming, the Consulate General of China in Osaka, Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama Prefecture, Sichuan Provincial Cultural Tourism Office, chengdu research base of giant panda and China Tourism Offices in Osaka jointly hosted this birthday party.
On September 14th, the audience attended the 31st birthday party of the giant panda Yongming at the Baibang Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Consulate General of China in Osaka)
At the birthday party, the audience reviewed the life of the Yongming family in Japan through a documentary. Liu Long, deputy secretary of chengdu research base of giant panda, had a live conversation with Jianzi Nakao, deputy director of Adventure World Amusement Park in Wakayama County, and played the life videos of Yongming, Sakura and Taobang after they returned to China. The interesting pictures excited the audience, and some of them shed tears with excitement.
Fang Wei, Deputy Consul General of the Japanese Consulate General in Osaka, said in his speech that the "Yongming" family of three has been taken care of in chengdu research base of giant panda and will continue to play an active role as a friendly messenger between China and China in the future. Welcome Japanese fans to visit Chengdu, visit their old friend Yongming’s family, continue to sublimate "panda love" into "human love", and jointly promote the communication between Chinese and Japanese people.
Shimonoseki, deputy governor of Wakayama Prefecture, said that "Yongming" gave birth to 16 children in the 28 years after coming to Wakayama Prefecture, bringing joy to Japan and the world. In 2022, Wakayama County and Sichuan Province became sister counties and provinces, which was inseparable from the contribution of Yongming. I believe that this "Yongming" birthday party will once again open a new chapter in Japan-China friendly exchanges.