Panda Bazai celebrates 3rd birthday at Chinese zoo

A birthday party was held at a zoo in Hanzhong City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province Tuesday for a panda named Bazai, who turned 3 this year.

Caretakers prepared a special feast for the occasion, complete with his favorite treats.

The male giant panda Bazai was born on July 16, 2021, at the Qinling Giant Panda Research Center in Xi'an, Shaanxi. His mother is the black-and-white giant panda Zhengzheng, and his father is the world's only captive bred brown giant panda named Qizai.

A high-speed railway connecting the two major port cities of Wenzhou and Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province officially opened on Friday, highlighting a breakthrough for private funding in China's railway construction.

The project, which began in 2017, was completed in two phases, with private enterprises investing 51 percent in the section between Wenzhou City and Yiwu City, a vital distribution hub for small commodities.

"We created a foundation for private investment, which allowed investors to reduce their capital contribution. Additionally, we established a risk-sharing mechanism between social capital and private enterprises to ensure risk management," said Zhang Yi, manager at the Department of Transportation Management of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Under this mechanism, private enterprises will receive all earnings during the first 30 years of operation, while risks are shared with social capital. If earnings fall short of expectations, the government will provide subsidies to alleviate financial pressure on private enterprises.

Extending 260 km, the nine-station railway has a designed speed of 350 km per hour, offering a rapid transit solution along the route threading the economic hubs of Hangzhou, Yiwu and Wenzhou in the delta area, known as one of the country's most economically vibrant regions.