奇速英语

热烈欢迎旅日大熊猫“香香”回家！

The giant panda Xiang Xiang on Tuesday (Feb. 21, 2023) morning left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to fly back to China, her home country.

Around 7:10 am local time, a white truck carrying the five-year-old panda slowly drove out of Ueno Zoological Gardens, before heading to Narita International Airport. The panda left the airport at 12:45 pm local time, and arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Southwest China’s Sichuan province at 5:15 pm Beijing time, said the zoo.

Xiang Xiang was born at Ueno Zoo to Shin Shin and Ri Ri. Xiang Xiang was popular among Japanese people after she was born. She was supposed to travel back to China by the end of December 2020. However, because of her popularity in Japan and COVID-19, they decided to postpone her return.

After her return, Xiang Xiang was sent to Bifengxia Giant Panda Base in the city of Ya’an, Sichuan, which is known as the hometown of giant pandas. Now five years and eight months old, the panda has reached her breeding maturity(繁殖成熟期). “Considering the future of Xiang Xiang and the giant pandas as a species(物种), it would be amazing if it found a good mate and bred in China,” Yutaka Fukuda, director of Ueno Zoo, said.

The love for giant pandas is expected to drive more Sino-Japanese friendly exchanges, according to a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Japan.