Panda family celebrate birthday in Malaysia

Hundreds of visitors joined zoo keepers at Malaysia's national zoo on Tuesday to celebrate the tenth birthday of Xing Xing and Liang Liang, two giant pandas who arrived in Malaysia on loan in 2014 marking 40 years of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia.

The event was also in celebration of their baby, a female panda called Nuan Nuan, which turned one year old on Aug. 18.

Visitors and journalists took pictures of the panda family at the Panda Conservation Center as the pandas enjoyed their special birthday "ice cakes," which were prepared by the zoo management office.

In conjunction with the special day, the zoo offered free passes to public visitors born on the same day.

Rosly Ahmat Lana, deputy president of the national zoo, said more than 2 million people have come to see the pandas since they arrived, especially after the birth of the panda cub.

"We have arranged six zoo keepers to look after the panda family, including one from China," said Rosly, adding that under the care of the zoo keepers, Nuan Nuan, which weighs about 37 kilograms now, "is very happy and very healthy."

Young Miu Kim, a retired teacher, said he drove from his home in Pahang this morning to take a look at the pandas, which also shared the same family name in Chinese, "Xiong," with him.

"The panda family in the zoo can act as a symbol of China-Malaysia relationship, and because of them, more people would come to the zoo to learn about pandas and about China," said Young. Endit