Published: 12:20pm, 8 Dec 2024Updated: 3:03pm, 8 Dec 2024
Hundreds of early birds queued outside Ocean Park’s giant panda enclosure on Sunday morning to meet the two bears gifted to Hong Kong by Beijing, with the pair’s public debut even attracting fans from around the world.
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Male bear An An and his female counterpart, Ke Ke, enjoyed a warm reception from visitors stopping by their home at the park’s Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures enclosure.
The crowd used their phones and cameras to capture the bears’ every moves, as Ke Ke rested on a tree trunk and An An approached the glass to get a closer look at the visitors.
The occasion saw dozens of people queuing outside the park before it opened at 10am. One fan at the front of the line was seen bringing along several panda dolls, while another wore a special headband to mark the day.
Under the park’s crowd control measures, patrons can only visit the pandas for 10 minutes.
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Panda fan Brian Sit, a 29-year-old construction worker, said he had been waiting in line for 30 minutes just to see the bears.