Japanese bid farewell to beloved panda back in China

TOKYO– Thousands of Japanese fans, some wiping away tears, bid farewell to a Japanese-born giant panda who made his last public appearance on Sunday before flying back to his home country of China.

Panda fans gathered at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo for one last look at Xiang Xiang, the park’s idol since he was born in June 2017.

Sunday’s viewing was limited to 2,600 lucky people who won their tickets in a fiercely competitive lottery. But many others who didn’t win still came to bid farewell from outside the panda house.

“Xiang Xiang is not only cute but charming and funny. She is so attractive that if you see her once, you want to see her more. I don’t think there’s a panda like her in the universe,” said a visitor who only gave her first name, Yukie. “I’ve made friends here by sharing it, and that’s also its appeal.”

Although she was born and raised in the Tokyo Zoo, Xiang Xiang, whose parents Ri Ri and Shin Shin are on loan from China, must return to this country.

China sends pandas overseas as a sign of goodwill, but retains ownership of the animals and cubs they produce. The animals are native to southwest China and are an unofficial national mascot.

Divided into groups of around 10, visitors had just a few minutes to quietly say goodbye to Xiang Xiang as she nonchalantly nibbled on bamboo sticks. Viewers brandished their cellphones and cameras to capture his every move.

“I wish pandas born in Japan could stay in Japan,” said Takamichi Masui, an auto parts maker who traveled from Mie, central Japan. “So many people came today and the fans are sad to see her go. When I saw (Xiang Xiang), I had tears in my eyes. I wish Xiang Xiang could stay, even if I understand that it is difficult.

He said he was worried about whether Xiang Xiang could adjust smoothly to his new life in China.

Natsuki Mizuguchi, a graphic designer, wore a parka, socks, and shoes adorned with Xiang Xiang’s headshot photo she took.

Mizuguchi said she first saw Xiang Xiang when she was recovering from health issues, but has since improved. “I wanted to express my gratitude to Xiang Xiang,” Mizuguchi said. “I’m sure she will also be an idol in China and hope she will serve the friendship between our two countries.”

Her friend, Akane Hiramoto, a nurse, said she couldn’t make it on Sunday and her visit on Saturday was her last.

“I would love to go see her in China,” Hiramoto said. “I hope Japan and China can deepen their friendship through pandas like Xiang Xiang and also environmental issues, for example.”

Despite strained political ties between Japan and China, pandas have connected people from both countries and contributed to friendship, say Japanese fans.

Xiang Xiang, accompanied by two employees from Ueno Zoo, will fly to China on Tuesday. She will join other pandas at a facility in Sichuan province, close to the pandas’ original habitat.

“I got emotional when I saw a lot of people crying tears as they said goodbye to him,” Ueno Zoo spokesperson Naoya Ohashi said.

But there is one day left until he leaves and, “as zookeepers, we will take responsibility and do everything we can to get him safely to China,” he said.

“I hope she gets used to a new environment quickly, finds a good partner and has children,” Ohashi said.

Three other pandas from another park, Adventure World, in central Japan – elderly man Eimei, sent from China in 1994, and his Japanese-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin – will travel to China on Wednesday mainly to find suitable partners for breeding -age twin pandas. Four female pandas will remain after handover, and the park is looking for a male panda to send from China.

Pandas, which rarely breed in the wild and feed on bamboo, remain among the world’s most endangered species. An estimated 1,800 pandas live in the wild, while another 500 are found in zoos or reserves, mostly in Sichuan.