21 February 2011 was a special day
for the Japanese citizen.
for the Japanese citizen.
Two Giant Pandas
比力Bi Li (Male, born born 2005 Aug 16)
and 仙女Xian Nu (Female born 2005 Jul 3)
arrived at Ueno Zoo from Ya'an Giant Panda Conservation Center
in Central China.
They left Ya'an late 20th and arrived at
New Tokyo international airport
New Tokyo international airport
a few minutes before estimated time of arrival
on All Nippon Airways Co., (ANA/全日空)
NH960 Boeing 767-300ER airplane called
"FLY! PANDA" with a panda shaped pattern
on its body. Many media and press awaited
their arrival at the airport to catch a glimpse
of the two Giant Pandas.
on its body. Many media and press awaited
their arrival at the airport to catch a glimpse
of the two Giant Pandas.
“FLY! PANDA” airplane was specially made in
2007 for the 20th anniversary of airline service
between Japan and China, and to mark the
35th anniversary of establishing
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“FLY! PANDA” airplane
slowly approaches the parking area.
There are Pandas hanging on
both sides of the airplane,
which makes it cuter than ever!!
both sides of the airplane,
which makes it cuter than ever!!
Flying on this airplane
is one of my dreams.
is one of my dreams.
It must be a dream to
all Panda lovers around the world.
all Panda lovers around the world.
And the cart that carries the
two Giant Panda cage
two Giant Panda cage
is also designed like Pandas.
This was made around
the same time as the
the same time as the
“FLY! PANDA” airplane.
It even has ears.
ANA staff meets the
2 Giant Pandas
2 Giant Pandas
with a Panda costume.
The Giant Pandas are in these two boxes.
Staff at the airport opens
the box and shows the
two Giant Pandas to the media and press.
the box and shows the
two Giant Pandas to the media and press.
ANA gave me the great opportunity to
hand out Panda souvenirs to the guests
that were on this airplane on this special day.
How lucky they were to be on the
same airplane as Pandas!!
same airplane as Pandas!!
According to the press release from ANA,
they will launch a direct flight from
New Tokyo International Airport to Chengdu
from 19 Jun 2011. It will be far easier for the
Japanese customers to visit Chengdu,
not only for business but also for tourism
and to meet the Giant Pandas at
Chengdu Panda Base.
Chengdu Panda Base.
Link of ANA direct flight from Narita to Chengdu (Japanese)
Link of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (English)
The two Giant Pandas seemed tired after the
long distance travel, but the keepers from
Ya'an and Ueno Zoo attended the Giant Pandas
on the airplane to make sure they were safe.
After meeting the two Giant Pandas at the airport,
I rushed to Ueno Zoo to meet the Pandas there too.
The truck that carried Bi Li and Xian Nu arrived at
Ueno Zoo around 11:40pm.
Many local citizens were outside the gate of Ueno Zoo
to welcome the two Giant Pandas they had been waiting for.
As the gate to the zoo opened, the truck slowly appeared
in front of all the media and press.
70 companies and 193 people were from the
media and press this day, waiting in the cold.
There were interviews from Ueno Zoo Manager
Teruyuki Komiya and veterinarian Tatsuko Hara
about Bi Li and Xian Nu's behaviors.
Teruyuki Komiya stated that their goal is not just
reproduction and breeding. They hope to see
Pandas born in Ueno Zoo go back to
the wild in the future, in order to help the
conservation of wild Giant Pandas.
According to the news the next day,
Bi Li was nervous and crying all the time
after arriving at his new home,
but Xian Nu soon started to eat bamboo
staying calm in her new Panda House.
Bi Li and Xian Nu will have new names from 40,000
suggestions already applied from the public.
The two Giant Pandas will be shown in public after
a month observation by specialists.
(I will upload videos I took of the whole interview soon.)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110223a5.html
Pambassador Yumiko Kajiwara
