Panda twins debut at Ocean Park, crowds flock to see them

The Hong Kong-born giant panda twin cubs made their public debut today, drawing eager crowds to Ocean Park as early as 6am. 

The adorable duo, known as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother,” greeted visitors alongside their parents, Ying Ying and Le Le, at 10am this Sunday. 

The park set up a waiting area near the parking lot, where over 500 people -- mostly local residents -- queued up, with staff reporting wait times exceeding an hour.

Visitor Chan, who arrived at the front of the line at 6am, shared that the birth of these pandas in Hong Kong holds special significance for the community. 

“Time is limited, so I might not be able to take a selfie with the pandas,” Chan said. 

Another visitor, Lee, expressed fatigue after arriving at the same early hour. 

“I’m tired, but there’s no choice because the park has limited visiting time of just a few minutes, and I was worried about the crowd, so I came early,” Lee said.

The park has arranged for public visits to the panda exhibit from 10am to 3pm, expecting to accommodate about 5,000 people daily. 

Local resident Yip said she stayed at a nearby hotel to see the pandas as early as possible today. “Five minutes feels a bit short, but I understand the arrangement. I hope to take more cute photos to enjoy back home.”

Describing herself as a “panda fan,” she visits Ocean Park about once a month and previously traveled to South Korea to see pandas, where keepers often provide updates on their activities. 

She said that there is less real-time information about Hong Kong’s pandas and hopes the park can share more updates about An An and Ke Ke.

Each visitor will have a brief five-minute opportunity to view the cubs. Siblings aged 18 and 9 also joined the queue around 7am, with the sister excitedly sharing her anticipation of seeing the pandas in person after only watching them on social media live streams.

Starting Tuesday, the park will offer an exclusive VIP tour priced at up to HK$1,500, allowing attendees to meet the twin cubs before the general public at 9.30am. 

However, some citizens feel the ticket price is steep and are hesitant to purchase it for now.

After seeing the twins, Wong said he has no plans to purchase the VIP ticket. “I don’t find anything special about it. If it’s just more time to see the pandas, I could have queued earlier. 

“It would be more appealing if we could personally interact with the pandas or feed them.” 

Chan, a resident of New Territories East, said: “Even if it’s expensive, some will find it worthwhile.” 

Another visitor, Wong from Tin Shui Wai, expressed interest in the VIP ticket but remarked, “There are only 40 spots available, so I hope more can be opened up for everyone to have a chance.”

The park anticipates that the panda craze will significantly boost visitor numbers and revenue. 

The giant panda Ying Ying, gifted by Beijing in 2007, gave birth to the twin cubs on August 15 last year, leading to their affectionate nicknames, “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother.”

Lawmaker Edward Leung Hei suggested that Ocean Park should introduce lower-priced admission tickets specifically for visiting the giant pandas. 

This move aims to attract panda enthusiasts who may not be interested in other attractions within the park.

Leung said that visiting giant pandas is free in Macau, while admission tickets for zoos in Shenzhen and Guangzhou are priced at only 99 yuan and 20 yuan, respectively. 

He criticized Ocean Park's admission fee of over HK$400 as being too expensive. 

Meanwhile, the MTR Corporation has decorated various stations with images of the panda cubs and launched a themed train on the South Island Line.

(Cheng Wong)