Tokyo, 29 Sep (Xinhua) -- To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, Japan Post issued commemorative stamps with the theme of giant pandas on September 29. Over the past half century, China's "national treasure" giant panda has been deeply loved by the Japanese people, and as a link between China and Japan, it has witnessed the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries.
Please look at the report sent back from the front by the Xinhua reporter --
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The short story of "Panda Diplomacy"
On September 29, 1972, the Chinese and Japanese governments officially signed the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, normalizing diplomatic relations.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Masahiro Ohira Masahiro's granddaughter Manabe Watanabe recalled a past incident in an interview with a Xinhua reporter a few days ago: "After the negotiations on the normalization of diplomatic relations were completed, Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei (then Chinese Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei) handed Ohira a note saying that as a symbol of friendship, [the Chinese Government] decided to give this [gift] to Japan. Daihei looked at the 'giant panda' written on the note and asked doubtfully, "Is this a bear?" Or a cat? ’”
For half a century, the giant panda has undoubtedly become the most familiar and beloved friendly messenger of the Japanese people.
In November 1972, when the Chinese giant pandas "Kang Kang" and "Lan Lan" first met with the audience at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, they became the center of the Japanese press. Xinhua News Agency
On October 28, 1972, the first batch of giant pandas in Japan, "Kang Kang" and "Lan Lan", arrived in Tokyo by special plane, and the then Chief Cabinet Secretary Nidaido Jinjin personally went to the airport to greet them. From the airport to the Ueno Zoo, a police car opened the road and was escorted by more than 100 police personnel. In early November of the same year, when "Kangkang" and "Lanlan" made their first public appearances, 60,000 visitors crowded Ueno Zoo. The following year, Ueno Zoo saw a record high of 9.2 million visitors. The Japanese anime "Cherry Maruko" has reproduced the scene of the national sensation at that time competing to see the giant panda.
In the past half century, more giant pandas have arrived in Japan and become the most beloved "animal stars" in many parts of Japan. Taking the above wild zoo as an example, every time the giant panda family in the park "Tim Ting" good news, it will not only make headlines in Japan, but also bring economic benefits to surrounding restaurants and shops, and the collection of cub naming activities can always attract a large number of Japanese people to actively participate.
This is the giant panda cubs "Lei Lei" (left) and "Xiao Xiao" (right) photographed on August 5, 2021. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of Tokyo Zoological Association)
On June 23, 2021, Ueno Zoo's giant panda mother "Fairy" gave birth to a pair of "dragon and phoenix fetuses". On January 12 this year, the dragon and phoenix fetal cubs "Xiaoxiao" and "Lei Lei" made their first public appearance. Due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, only the lucky ones selected by the lottery on that day had the opportunity to see their style, and the winning rate was only 1/348. On the same day, Ms. Arai from Yokohama expressed the hope that Japan and China will always be friendly with giant pandas as a bond.
A model of Sino-Japanese cooperation
The "World of Adventure" park in Shirahama-cho, Wakayama Prefecture has a large family of pandas.
Babies born in the "adventure world" will be named "Bang", and 11 of the 17 "Bang" giant pandas have been returned to China. On November 22, 2020, "World of Adventure" welcomed the 17th giant panda cub "Maple Hama". Her mother, "Ryohama", was the first giant panda born in "Adventure World", giving birth to a total of 10 babies seven times. Dad "Sun Life" just passed his 30th birthday in September this year and is the father of 16 giant panda cubs.
This is the scene of the giant panda cub "Kaedebang" birthday party taken in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on November 22, 2021. Photo by Xinhua reporter Jiang Qiaomei
"Adventure World" has the largest number of breeding and littering in international cooperation on giant pandas, becoming the largest artificial captive population of giant pandas overseas. Adventure World said this success is due to their international scientific research cooperation with the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in China since 1994. In an interview with a Xinhua reporter a few days ago, Park Director Takashi Imezzu said that he hopes to further deepen exchanges between Japan and China in the future.
A special mission
On September 16 this year, the female giant panda "Dandan" celebrated her 27th birthday at the Kobe Municipal Prince Zoo in Japan.
Kobe City was devastated by the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. The municipal government at that time proposed that it hoped to jointly carry out research on the breeding of giant pandas with the Chinese side to bring comfort and encouragement to the citizens who were rebuilding after the disaster. This request received a positive response from the Chinese side. "Dandan" and the male giant panda "Xingxing" arrived at the Prince's Zoo in 2000 on a special mission, and immediately set off a local boom. To this day, there are still "hardcore fans" who emotionally recall that the arrival of giant pandas has injected courage into themselves.
On July 28, 2000, the Prince's Zoo in Kobe, Japan, held a ceremony to welcome a Chinese giant panda to the park. This is two Japanese children watching a giant panda. Xinhua News Agency
"Dan Dan" has always been the most watched star of the Prince's Zoo. In 2020, the Kobe local postal department also sold a set of commemorative stamps with the theme of "Thank you for Dandan". Due to the heart attack, the park decided to suspend its public appearances since March this year, but still shows its daily updates on social media to feed its fans.
Yujiro Kako, director of the Prince's Zoo, told Xinhua News Agency: "The giant panda is a symbol of Japan-China friendship. In the past 22 years, 'Dandan' has been loved by people in Japan and around the world. Prince Zoo maintains good relations with the Chinese side with the 'Dan Dan' as a link, and hopes that this relationship will continue into the next fifty years." (Video reporter: Lee Kwang-jeong; Editor: Shen Haoyang; Editors: Ma Xiaoyan, Sun Hao, Wang Kewen)
Produced by the International Department of Xinhua News Agency
Produced by Xinhua News Agency's international communication integration platform