Giant panda in Washington celebrates 5th birthday

Bao Li, one of a pair of giant pandas at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, DC, celebrated his fifth birthday on Tuesday with his favorite treat — a fruit-based ice cream cake.

The shark-themed cake — inspired by a strip of longer fur that runs down his back — was placed in front of a sign reading: "DIVE INTO 5, HAPPY BDAY BAO LI", and was decorated with the shapes of fish, starfish, and a shark fin.

Bao Li began by eating the sweet potato "minnows", blueberry "bubbles" and a carrot carved into a palm tree, then tore into the rest of his frozen cake.

Visitors crowded around Bao Li's enclosure at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat to join in the occasion.

"I'm here to celebrate Bao Li's fifth birthday. I can't believe he's five already," said visitor Kirsten Svane. "He's been here for two years now. He's very much kind of like a teenage boy, I would say. It's just a really happy occasion. I love coming every year for the birthdays. It's a great tradition."

Visitor Ross Poquette said: "I know a lot of people that are here. So it's good to see friends and sort of connecting around one common theme, which would be the panda's birthday. And the pandas here have come from China to be here and be with everyone and sort of share the joy of pandas in general."

Bao Li's name combines the Chinese words for "treasure" and "vitality and strength", together meaning "active and vital power".

He was born on Aug 4, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province.

Bao Li also has deep family ties to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

His mother, Bao Bao, was born there in 2013, and his grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, served as ambassadors for their species in Washington for 23 years.

His companion at the zoo, a female named Qing Bao, whose name means "green treasure", was born on Sept 12, 2021.

The pair made their public debut at the zoo in January last year.

"Giant pandas are, you know, they are the symbol of friendship between the United States and China. They are just so joyful. They bring people so much joy all across the world," said giant panda keeper Mariel Lally.

"And it meant so much to everyone when Bao Li and Qing Bao came here from China, especially (to) me as the person who works with them. But I know that it really just helps kind of bring us all together. And everybody is here no matter where you're from, celebrating a birthday," she said.

The first giant pandas to arrive in the United States, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, were presented by China as a gift to the people of the United States following then-president Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972.

Contact the writers at donghao@chinadailyusa.com