Feature: Pandas shine at San Diego Zoo Lunar New Year celebrations

"We love having the Lunar New Year events here at the San Diego Zoo. It's an opportunity for us to celebrate cultures from around the world, and also to talk about wildlife and conservation and the way that folks can engage in helping wildlife everywhere," Dean Watanabe, vice president and deputy director of San Diego Zoo, told Xinhua.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Red lanterns swayed in the gentle California breeze, wishing trees were festooned with cards bearing messages of hope, and families strolled along pathways beaming with smiles at the San Diego Zoo as it celebrated the Lunar New Year on Saturday, welcoming the Year of the Horse.

Now in its fifth consecutive year, the zoo's Lunar New Year event blends cultural traditions with wildlife conservation, offering visitors a chance to experience Chinese crafts, zodiac face paintings, red envelope giveaways, and to leave messages of health and happiness on the wishing trees.

The celebration also highlighted the enduring collaboration between the San Diego Zoo and China on giant panda conservation.

Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, the zoo's two giant pandas, have captured hearts across the United States since they arrived from China in 2024 as part of a 10-year international panda protection program, marking a new phase of U.S.-China collaboration in wildlife conservation.

At Panda Ridge, visitors watched the pandas munch bamboo, climb, tumble, and nap, with cheerful laughter and applause filling the air. The pandas' playful antics offered a vivid reminder of the connection between humans and wildlife.

"We love having the Lunar New Year events here at the San Diego Zoo. It's an opportunity for us to celebrate cultures from around the world, and also to talk about wildlife and conservation and the way that folks can engage in helping wildlife everywhere," Dean Watanabe, vice president and deputy director of San Diego Zoo, told Xinhua.

He emphasized that conservation is a collective effort, with giant pandas serving as a prime example. "We work very closely with our Chinese partners to care for our pandas and advance other conservation efforts as well," Watanabe said.

Echoing the spirit of partnership, Huang Hongjiang, deputy consul general of China in Los Angeles, said the giant pandas symbolize friendship and cooperation between China and the United States.

"The zoo's Lunar New Year celebrations showcase the achievements of China-U.S. collaboration in panda conservation and reflect more than three decades of shared experience," he noted.

Huang expressed hope that both nations will continue to deepen cooperation across diverse areas and strengthen people-to-people exchanges in the new year.

For visitors, the event was also a personal delight.

Jamie Wolletz, a visitor from Oklahoma, told Xinhua that she travelled all the way to the zoo with four best friends to celebrate her birthday, which fell on Saturday. Wearing a T-shirt she designed featuring a giant panda, Wolletz said pandas have been her favorite animals since childhood.

"They are friendly ambassadors from China and represent the friendship between our countries. I hope to see more exchanges between the U.S. and China this year," she said.

"I wish for pandas to thrive!" read one card hanging on a wishing tree, echoing Wolletz's sentiment.■