Hong Kong’s first-ever giant panda twins have received their official names, Ocean Park has announced, following a naming competition.
The female cub is named Jia Jia while her brother is called De De, after a competition that, according to the park, drew more than 35,700 submissions from the public.
The competition’s judging panel considered the names to be “highly meaningful,” Rosanna Law, the secretary for culture, sports and tourism, said on Tuesday.
Jia Jia conveys the Chinese phrase of encouragement – “add oil” – and is also a homophone of the Chinese character for “family,” while De De means “to succeed” and is also a homophone of the Chinese character for “virtue,” Law added.
The twins were born in August to mother Ying Ying and father Le Le, marking the first giant panda births in Hong Kong.
Ying Ying and Le Le were both gifted by the central government to Hong Kong in 2007 ahead of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Ying Ying gave birth to the twins one day before her 19th birthday. She was “the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth” as a first-time mother, the park said.
The nine-month-old panda cubs are growing up “strong and healthy,” Ocean Park said in a social media post on Tuesday, adding that they weighed 21 kilogrammes each.
“In recent weeks, they have even started mimicking their mother by nibbling on bamboo leaves, though they are not quite ready to eat them and still rely on milk,” the post read.
Ocean Park is now home to six giant pandas – the twins, their parents, as well as new additions An An and Ke Ke, who arrived in October as gifts from Beijing.
The park, which launched a number of panda-themed experiences in November, said it would “capitalise on the presence of six giant pandas in the park to drive citywide excitement” this fiscal year.
Opened in 1977, Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s largest theme park. It also conducts animal conservation research and boasts around two dozen animal attractions, including an alligator marsh, aquariums, and an Arctic fox den.
In November, the park announced a HK$71.6 million deficit in its latest fiscal year, despite recording the highest number of visitors in five years.
The rise in visitors was driven by non-local visitors, with tourists from mainland China almost quadrupling while those from India and the Philippines increased by more than three and five times, respectively.
But at the same time, the park’s operating costs increased 17 per cent compared with the previous year, with spending on conservation and education comprising almost 30 per cent of this.
