Hong Kong marks first birthday of panda twins at Ocean Park
Ocean Park celebrated the first birthday of Hong Kong’s first locally born giant panda twins, Jia Jia and De De. The cubs enjoyed an iced vegetable juice cake and played in their enclosure as visitors packed the park.
The twins made history when mother Ying Ying delivered them a day before turning 19, becoming the world’s oldest first-time panda mother on record. Father Le Le and Ying Ying were gifted by Beijing in 2007. Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee called the birth “a true rarity.”
The twins’ arrival brought Ocean Park’s panda count to six. Pong said the pandas drove a roughly 20% surge in visitor attendance and a jump in merchandise revenue this year. To mark the birthday, the park released limited-edition stamps, headbands, and 2,000 free “longevity noodle” giveaways.
Named after a public contest, Jia Jia and De De each now weigh about 30 kg and are eating solid foods. Pong added that two new panda habitats are in the tendering phase, with completion set for 2027.
Birthday events for all six pandas will run through August, with a five-metre bun tower and a photo zone of 60 panda sculptures at Waterfront Plaza.
