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Giant pandas ignite buzz during debut at San Diego Zoo

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      China

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      Giant pandas ignite buzz during debut at San Diego Zoo

      2024-08-11 20:39 Last Updated At:21:07

      A pair of giant pandas from China made their public debut at the San Diego Zoo, United States, on Thursday, meeting with an outpouring love and admiration from eager American visitors.

      Giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao landed in California on June 27 for a 10-year international giant panda protection cooperation with the San Diego Zoo, marking a new round of U.S.-China panda exchanges. The two are the first pandas to enter the United States in 21 years.

      At a welcome ceremony of the two pandas and the opening of the renovated Panda Ridge, California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed August 8 as California Panda Day.

      "This is about something much deeper, much richer than just the two beautiful pandas we celebrate. It's about celebrating our common humanity," Newsom said in his speech.

      "A panda a day keeps the sorrow away," said Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., in his speech.

      Xie said that over the past three decades, cooperation between China and the San Diego Zoo has helped increase survival rates for panda cubs from around 10 percent to more than 90 percent.

      "China-U.S. cooperation on panda conservation will not cease. Our people-to-people exchanges and subnational cooperation will not stop, and once opened, the door of China-U.S. friendship will not be shut again," he said.

      The zoo has gone to great lengths to create an environment that replicates the giant panda's natural environment in China. The new Panda Ridge is four times the size of the previous space in 2019.

      Visitors were thrilled of the pandas' return, with some arriving early in the morning to catch a glimpse of the beloved bears.

      "We woke up at 5:00 in the morning, 5:00, drove about an hour and a half. And we are in line, hopefully to be one of the first ones," said a visitor.

      "I realize they're shy creatures. I know there's a lot of people here, but I just love to see them in their exhibit as well. And to help, you know, spread the message that we want to save them as best as we can," said another visitor.

      Ambassador Xie handed out stuffed animals to young panda enthusiasts. Paola Barajas, a panda fan, plans to come every week and hopes to spread the word about the importance of pandas.

      "I studied political science back then, and panda diplomacy has been such an important part of the relationship of the United States and China. So, I'm really hoping that now that we have another opportunity to take care of new cubs. I know they are going to flourish here. We're hoping for future generations of pandas," she said.

      Giant pandas ignite buzz during debut at San Diego Zoo

      Giant pandas ignite buzz during debut at San Diego Zoo

      Russia said on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported striking Russian targets, according to their latest updates on the conflict.

      The Russian Ministry of Defense said that over the past 24 hours, its forces had seized the village of Zapadne on the western bank of the Oskil River, which used to form the front line between the Ukrainian and Russian armies.

      The ministry also said the Russian forces had successfully repelled Ukrainian counterattacks and launched offensives in the directions of Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson.

      The air defense forces shot down 114 Ukrainian drones, and the Russian forces had continued to strike Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region, it said.

      On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that its forces had engaged in 67 battles on the frontline.

      The Ukrainian air force, missile forces and artillery units had struck targets such as Russian personnel, concentration areas of weapons and military equipment, command posts, depots and artillery systems, with the Ukrainian army continuing its operations in Russia's Kursk region, the Ukrainian side said.

      Russia seizes one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Ukraine strikes Russian targets

      Russia seizes one more settlement in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Ukraine strikes Russian targets

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