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Japan bids farewell to giant panda sent to China

February 21, 2023

Xiang Xiang, a Japan-born giant panda, has attracted many visitors to a Tokyo zoo since her birth in 2017. But now is time to say goodbye, as Japan sends her to a protected facility in southwestern China.

https://p.dw.com/p/4NnRD
People with stuffed panda figures and one wipes tears as they gather to see Xiang Xiang at Ueno Zoo
Xiang Xiang fans bid farewell to the giant panda with tears and wavesImage: Fuminori Ogane/AP/picture alliance

Hundreds of people gathered outside Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Tuesday as Japanese-born panda Xiang Xiang was sent to China.

Others waved their last goodbyes at Narita International Airport as a plane carrying Xiang Xiang took off.

Xiang Xiang was sent to a Chinese reserve in the southwestern Sichuan province. China maintains ownership of any loaned giant pandas and their offspring around the world. 

She was originally set to be returned to China in December 2020 but her trip was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. 

Three other pandas at a zoo in the central Japanese coastal town of Shirahama were set to be sent back to China on Wednesday. 

Xiang Xiang made 'so many people happy'

Xiang Xiang, born in 2017, is particularly famous. She was the zoo's first naturally-conceived panda and the first to be born there for years. 

According to media reports, some 60,000 people applied for 2,600 spots to see her on Sunday, the last chance for a viewing of Xiang Xiang. 

A female giant panda Xiang Xiang is seen at Ueno Zoo in Taito Ward, Tokyo on February 19, 2023
The final viewing date for Xiang Xiang was February 19Image: Fuminori Ogane/AP/picture alliance

Ueno Zoo Director Yutaka Fukuda said he would miss Xiang Xiang as he had seen her grow since she was born.

"I want to thank her for making so many people happy," he said. "I hope she will contribute
to panda conservation research after safely completing her journey."

Fans say that pandas have connected Chinese and Japanese people despite growing political tensions between the two countries. 

The Chinese Embassy has called them "the cutest messengers of friendship" and said it hoped Japanese people would continue to follow the pandas' progress after their return to China. 

fb/wd (AP, dpa)