BEIJING (AP) – Ten panda cubs publicly debuted at China’s main panda reserve on Wednesday morning on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year.
One looked shy and covered his face with both legs when he saw the crowd, while another was a rascal and walked away from his goalkeeper before being caught.
The pandas range from 4 to 6 months and all resulted from natural mating, according to the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province in southwest China.
Black and white fluff balls made their appearance in a playground in the center adorned with lunar New Year’s decorations, including lanterns, traditional Chinese knots, paper cars and flags.
“The newborn pandas of the 2020 class … wish you a Happy New Year and good luck in the Year of the Bull,” shouted their guardians with the pandas in their arms as some tried to escape.
Bamboo baskets were prepared with sweets for the pandas, with the Chinese character “fu”, meaning good luck and blessings, written on the outside.
This mimicked the Chinese tradition that adults gave red envelopes with money to children during the lunar new year to pass on good wishes and blessings to them.
Instead of money, baby pandas had snacks. Some of them were curious about the baskets, while others were distracted by the nearby toys and decorations.
In December, there were 44 panda puppies worldwide and more than half were raised in China.
China has been proud of its efforts to preserve an endangered species for many years. Pandas are also a symbol of China and are part of its cultural diplomacy.
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Associated Press News Assistant Caroline Chen contributed to this story.