香港在周四举办了一场盛大欢迎仪式，迎接来自北京赠送的新一对大熊猫——安安与可可。这次活动寄寓了为城市旅游业带来新活力的希望。
自1997年作为前英国殖民地回归中国统治以来，香港迎来了第三对从中国大陆送来的熊猫家庭。上个月，其邻近的英英诞生了一对双胞胎，成为了世界上年龄最大的初次生育大熊猫母亲，并打破了记录。
在此之后，加上新出生的宝宝和父亲乐乐，香港现共有六只大熊猫生活于此。
行政长官李家超于周二表示：5岁的雄性熊猫安安反应敏捷、聪明且活跃；而同为5岁雌性熊猫可可则擅长攀爬，外形可爱并拥有温顺性格。
这些新成员将经历两个月的隔离期，在海洋公园适应他们的新生活。这座历史悠久的动物园和水族馆一直以来深受香港居民及游客喜爱。李家超表示，公众可能在中期12月期间与这两只熊猫会面。
接下来十月份，政府邀请当地民众提出新名字建议，旨在展示大熊猫的独特特质。
旅游界对拥有六只熊猫带来了乐观态度，期待着这能促进香港游客数量的增长。官员们倡导企业把握住这个风靡的契机，利用新出生的小熊和幼崽带来的热潮来挖掘“熊猫经济”的潜力——这一术语由部分立法会议员提出。
在中国人的心中，大熊猫被视为国宝，象征着中国的软实力外交策略。这些可爱的物种仅在西南中国有发现，且数量受到发展活动的威胁。
然而，在保护圈养中的大熊猫并不便宜。芬兰一家动物园由于游客减少而导致维护成本上升，于是提前八年与中国政府达成协议，同意归还两只借来的熊猫。
香港海洋公园自1999年起便接待过一对熊猫——安安和嘉嘉（已于2016年去世），后者以38岁的高龄成为现存大熊猫中年龄最大的记录保持者。根据吉尼斯世界纪录显示，在野生环境中熊猫的平均寿命为18至20岁，而圈养状态下这一数据则是30年左右。
新闻来源：www.abcnews.go.com
原文地址：Hong Kong welcomes new giant pandas gifted by Beijing, raising hopes for tourism boost
新闻日期：2024-09-26
原文摘要：
Hong Kong welcomed a new pair of giant pandas gifted by Beijing on Thursday with a lavish ceremony, raising hopes for a boost to the city's tourism. An An and Ke Ke are the third pair of giant pandas to be sent to the city from mainland China since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Their arrival came after their new neighbor, Ying Ying, gave birth to twins last month and became the world’s oldest first-time panda mother on record. With the addition of the new bears, the twins, and their father, Le Le, Hong Kong now houses six pandas. Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said An An is a 5-year-old male panda who is agile, intelligent and active, while Ke Ke, a 5-year-old female, is good at climbing, cute and has a gentle temperament. The new arrivals will undergo two months of quarantine and adapt to their new home at Ocean Park, a zoo and aquarium that has long been a favorite of residents and tourists. Lee expressed hope that the public could meet the new bears in mid-December. In October, the government will invite residents to propose new names that showcase the pandas’ characteristics. Tourism industry representatives are optimistic about the potential impact of housing six pandas, hoping it will boost visitor numbers in Hong Kong. Officials have encouraged businesses to capitalize on the popularity of the new bears and newborn cubs to seize opportunities in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economy." Pandas are widely considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country's giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy. Giant pandas are only found in China's southwest and their population is under threat from development. But caring for pandas in captivity is expensive. A zoo in Finland agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they were too costly for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors. Hong Kong's Ocean Park has been hosting pandas since 1999, when the first pair, An An and Jia Jia, arrived in the financial hub shortly after it was handed back to China. Jia Jia, who died at 38 in 2016, is the world’s oldest-ever panda to have lived in captivity. The average lifespan for a panda in the wild is 18 to 20 years, while in captivity it’s 30 years, according to the Guinness World Records.
