Giant pandas enchant public in Singapore debut

The two giant pandas from China, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, made their debut on Wednesday after a grand opening ceremony of Giant Panda Forest in Singapore's River Safari, their new home for the next 10 years.

It has been almost three months since the two celebrities arrived here in early September. During this period, the two giant pandas spent one-month long quarantine and some time to settle down in their respective dens.

People who attend the ceremony were able to see with their own eyes the "onion head" Kai Kai and the "naughty girl" Jia Jia. The two pandas cheered up the crowds with every movement they made. They drank. They climbed. They ate bamboos. And even when they were sleeping, people still took photos and gasped with admiration at their black and white image and lovely features.

Singapore's River Safari spent 8.6 million Singapore dollars ( 705 million U.S. dollars) to build the house for the giant pandas. It covers an area of 1,500 square meters with an artificial environment similar to their native habitat.

When the two celebrities make their first public appearance on Thursday, about 100 people are allowed to visit them at one time. Each visit will be about 15 minutes so as to ensure that the endangered species have enough rest.

According to a staff member at the Giant Panda Forest, the two pandas only met each other on their way to Singapore. They are now living in different homes until they're growing old enough to have breeding season. Then they will be allowed to play together, and hopefully, have a baby panda in the future.

The public will have an opportunity not only to take close look at the two pandas, but also to learn their habitats and life in their hometown China. They will get first-hand knowledge about how to feed pandas, how to do researches on them in this Giant Panda Forest.

Zhao Shucong, administrator of China's State Forestry Adminitration, Wei Wei, Chinese ambassador to Singapore, together with S Iswaran, Singapore's minister in Prime Minister's Office and second minister for home affairs and trade and industry, attended the opening ceremony.

"I would like to thank the government of the People's Republic of China for entrusting us with Kai Kai and Jia Jia. I am confident that through their presence here, our bilateral ties will continue to grow from strength to strength even as we learn more about this endangered species and the values of conservation, " Iswaran said at the ceremony.

Two giant pandas from China traveled to Singapore for a period of three months in 1990 when the two countries established diplomatic ties. Since then people in Singapore have showed great interest in giant pandas.

The two giant pandas have fascinated the local people ever since their arrival in September. The Singapore Post launched special stamps for their arrival and the Monetary Authority launched commemorative coins.

Singapore's Tourism Board also "designate" the couple to be their tour guides on the platform of social media "Weibo." They " introduce" the city-state's famous attractions and also attract more and more people to come and see for themselves.

The Asia Pacific semifinal of a global initiative to recruit three giant panda conservation ambassadors was also held in Singapore in October, which attracted many people to attend the event, which had been designed to test their endurance and creativity, their knowledge of and passion for giant pandas, and their ability to spread the conservation message.