Hong Kong recently welcomed a new pair of giant pandas, An An and Ke Ke, gifted by Beijing. This addition to the city’s panda population is expected to significantly boost tourism. The pandas, along with the recently born twins and their father, Le Le, now make Hong Kong home to six pandas.

The new arrivals, aged five, are set to undergo a two-month quarantine period before settling into their new home at Ocean Park. Chief Executive John Lee expressed optimism that the public would be able to meet the pandas in mid-December.

To further engage the community, the government has announced plans to invite residents to suggest names for the pandas that reflect their unique characteristics.

Tourism industry representatives are enthusiastic about the potential impact of housing six pandas, believing it will attract more visitors to Hong Kong. Officials have encouraged businesses to leverage the popularity of the pandas and their cubs to capitalize on the “panda economy.”

Giant pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot, and the country’s panda loan program with overseas zoos is seen as a tool for soft-power diplomacy. However, caring for pandas in captivity is expensive, as demonstrated by the Finnish zoo that returned its pandas to China due to financial constraints.

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has a long history of hosting pandas, dating back to 1999. Jia Jia, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 38, holds the world record for the oldest panda to have lived in captivity.

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