Eat cake on Washington's "Little Miracle" birthday

On the 21st, at the Smithsonian Institution National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the giant panda "Little Miracle" (right) and his mother "Mei Xiang" enjoyed a fruit ice cake together

In the early morning of the 21st, washington, the capital of the United States, it was cool and pleasant after the rain. At the intersection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo leading to the Panda Pavilion, there sits a giant panda statue chewing green bamboo, wearing a small blue birthday crown on its head and a red "bib" under its chin: "'Little Miracle' turns one year old on August 21, Happy Birthday!" ”

A year ago today, when the new crown epidemic was raging, the giant panda Mei xiang in the United States was 22 years old at the time, and was artificially inseminated to produce a male giant panda "little miracle". The name, which is pronounced and written in Chinese Pinyin, was voted by more than 100,000 giant panda fans around the world through the Internet. The garden side said that the birth of the "little miracle" has brought joy to the world in the epidemic.

To celebrate the first birthday of the "Little Miracle", the Nutritional Science Department of the Zoo specially prepared a fruit ice cake. The large cake specially made for "Little Miracle" is topped with a red candle-shaped "1", which is made of grape juice and apple juice diluted and frozen, and the cake is dotted with sweet potatoes, apples, carrots, pears, sugar cane and bananas, and a few green and tender bamboo branches are inserted. A few meters apart, closer to the enclosure, there was a slightly smaller cake with a large heart-shaped apple juice ice cube inserted in it, prepared for the "Little Miracle" mother Mika.

When the Little Miracle was born, it weighed between 85 grams and 142 grams. After 12 months, it has grown into a fleshy, round little guy, weighing 27.2 kilograms, healthy and lively, and does not like to sleep lazily, and follows her mother Mika out of the pen early in the morning to forage for food. Mother and son gathered around the birthday cake and concentrated on eating it. While eating, Mother Meixiang suddenly arched her son with her mouth, and the "little miracle" rolled several times in a row, revealing a soft belly. It's hairy, black and white, and its every move is cute.

Qin Gang, the new Chinese ambassador to the United States, sent birthday wishes online early in the morning of the 21st to the "Little Miracle". Qin Gang said in the blessing video that the "little miracle" was born and thrived in the epidemic, bringing surprises and hopes to everyone in difficult times, and adding a bright color to the exchanges between the Chinese and American people. He wished that the "Little Miracle" could "grow up healthy and happy and continue to write miracles"!

In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, the zoo's acting director, Brandy Smith, said she had seen a video of the Chinese ambassador's blessing and that the United States and China were working together around the giant panda project to save the once endangered species, even during the pandemic. She said that during the epidemic period, around the breeding of giant pandas and the care of "little miracles" and other issues, the Chinese and American giant panda teams have maintained close exchanges through email, video and telephone.

The zoo opened at 8 o'clock, and tourists who came to see the "Little Miracle" for their birthday immediately filled the panda pavilion. Some of them are wearing T-shirts painted with giant pandas, some are wearing masks painted with family portraits of giant pandas, holding up tuan fans with the words "Happy Birthday to Little Miracles" in their hands, and the children are staring intently at the cute appearance of "Little Miracles" eating birthday cakes, immersed in surprise and happiness.

Ms. Yolanda Reyes, who works for a private company in Virginia, told Xinhua that she is an "iron fan" of giant pandas in the United States, and in addition to "little miracles", she has witnessed the birth and growth of her three older brothers and sisters, taishan, baby and babe, who have returned to China. She loves the innocence and naughtiness of giant pandas, so she has a special affection for China, and hopes to one day visit the hometown of giant pandas.

Since 1972, the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington has become one of the global habitats of Chinese giant pandas. According to the park, the Giant Panda Pavilion has always been the most popular building in the zoo, and after the birth of the "Little Miracle", it immediately became the zoo's brightest online star. Since its birth, more than 3.3 million netizens have watched the zoo's giant panda webcast.

Photo/ Xinhua News Agency