STORY: San Diego Zoo welcomes back beloved pandas on California Panda Day
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 8, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:39
LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, U.S.
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Panda Ridge opening ceremony
2. various of visitors
3. various of animals

STORYLINE:

Cameras flashed, and eager crowds of press and people gathered at the gates of Panda Ridge as two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, made their eagerly-awaited public debut at the San Diego Zoo on Thursday.

The first to enter the United States in over two decades, the two iconic black and white bears landed in California from China on June 27 for a 10-year international giant panda protection cooperation program with the San Diego Zoo, marking a new round of such collaboration between the two nations.

The joy was infectious as people came from all over the country and abroad to be the first to welcome China's cuddly envoys back to the United States.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng also attended the Panda Ridge opening ceremony.

The governor, who on Wednesday proclaimed Aug. 8 as California Panda Day, noted in his speech that the new pandas were about "celebrating our common humanity" and "celebrating the things that bind us together."

Xie Feng pointed out that California has a special bond with giant pandas, and the San Diego Zoo is the first U.S. institution to cooperate with China on panda conservation.

The ambassador noted that the "story of our panda conservation cooperation is also a most vivid example of our two peoples reaching out to each other."

The San Diego Zoo is one of the most visited zoos in the United States. Located in Balboa Park, it is home to over 12,000 animals representing over 680 species and subspecies.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from San Diego, U.S.
(XHTV)