Panda twin birthday party held in Belgium

BRUSSELS－A birthday ceremony was held on Saturday for Bao Di and Bao Mei, the panda twins born in Belgium on August 8, 2019, at a privately owned zoo and botanical garden located in Brugelette, Hainaut province.

The pandas celebrated their third birthday by eating "cake" in front of amused visitors.

At the ceremony co-hosted by the Chinese embassy in Brussels and the zoo, China's Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming thanked Eric Domb, the founder of Pairi Daiza, and the staff for their hard work in taking care of the five giant pandas in the zoo.

"Bao Di and Bao Mei have become strong and tall, playful and lively, and they have brought joy and memories to Belgian audiences, especially children," he said.

"Children here can become little ambassadors for China-Belgium relations and make their own contributions when they grow up to the development of friendly cooperation between both countries," he added.

Around 100 guests and visitors attended the event. In the afternoon, children took part in creative workshops where they painted on handmade panda figurines and learned about traditional calligraphy.

Bao Mei and Bao Di's parents, Xing Hui and Hao Hao, arrived in Belgium in 2014 "on loan" from China.

According to Tommy Leclercq, governor of Hainaut, their arrival has sparked "wonders". And Pairi Daiza has become a precious destination, not only for Belgians, but for many others.

After Bao Mei and Bao Di were born, the zoo became more popular, also because the twins are male and female, which is rare as panda litters are usually exclusively male or female.

The convention that governs the presence of pandas in Belgium provides that all the couple's children must be sent back to China at the age of 4 in order to better safeguard the species of giant pandas.

Tian Bao, the very first giant panda born to Xing Hui and Hao Hao in 2016, still remains in the zoo in accordance with an agreement reached earlier this year between the zoo and China Wildlife Conservation Association, allowing the giant panda to stay in the zoo this year.

The process of returning Tian Bao to China has been delayed by COVID-19 restrictions. Pairi Daiza has become one of the rare zoos outside China that has five giant pandas at the same time.