Sichuan Daily: Chinese Giant Panda Cubs in France Having Their Own Names

SICHUAN, China, Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The ZooParc de Beauval has held the naming ceremony for the giant panda twins from Chengdu, China living in France on November 18th, 2021, local time in France. The giant panda twin sisters which were born in August this year were given Chinese names "Huanlili" and "Yuandudu" respectively. "Lili" refers to the last character of the Chinese name of Paris, while "Dudu" refers to the last character of the Chinese name of Chengdu, which is the hometown of these twins. Their names symbolize not only the friendship between China and France but also express the wish for the healthy growth of the two panda babies.

The Chinese Olympic diving champion Zhang Jiaqi and famous French football player Mbappé have jointly announced the names of two giant panda cubs at the ceremony to the public. Zhang Jiaqi said: "Another giant panda or rather one of the mascots of Beijing Winter Olympics, Bing Dwen Dwen, will once again draw attention from the rest of the world on my hometown, Beijing, in more than two months. I also eagerly anticipate to meet with international athletes at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024!" Mbappé has also expressed that he felt "proud" and "honored" to attend the naming ceremony of giant panda twins at the event. Attending such an important event with a Chinese Olympic Champion is "an unforgettable moment".

Born in 2008, the giant pandas "Huanhuan" and "Yuanzai" took a special flight to ZooParc de Beauval in France in January 2012 and have started since then their 10-year life overseas. The giant panda "Huanhuan" has successfully given birth to a male giant panda called "Yuanmeng" on August 4th, 2017, which is also the first giant panda born in France. French President Macron and his wife have especially visited the zoo to see this giant panda family of three. "Huanhuan" has also successfully given birth to a pair of giant panda twins on August 2nd, 2021, bringing great expectations to the Chinese and French people.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan has successively performed research cooperation and exchanges on giant pandas with 17 countries and regions respectively since 1994. Currently, it is developing long-term international projects and carrying out cooperative researches on giant pandas breeding with Japan, the US, Spain, France, Germany and Denmark. The base has overcome many difficulties in terms of technology, culture, communication and management during years of international cooperation, and has made outstanding achievements, which have been widely acknowledged and praised by the international community. The base has established the largest ex-situ breeding population of giant pandas in the world with 223 existing pandas. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan and foreign countries have cooperated on researches regarding the international breeding of giant pandas by October 2021 with a total of 25 births and 37 alive cubs, demonstrating a survival rate of 97.37%.

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Contact: Zhang Peng, 008628-86968621, scrbw@scol.com.cn