In a delightful celebration of the upcoming Spring Festival, 25 newborn panda cubs from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China's Sichuan Province made their first public appearance together through a video link on Thursday.
The event, themed "Lucky Wishes and Adorable Newcomers," featured two groups of panda cubs born in 2024 sending Chinese Lunar New Year greetings to people worldwide in festive settings. The show highlighted the integration of Chinese Spring Festival traditions, intangible cultural heritage and panda conservation.
At the Shenshuping Base of the CCRCGP in Wolong National Nature Reserve located in Wenchuan County, 13 panda babies explored an area adorned with traditional Chinese snacks like sugarcoated haws, sticky rice balls and sugar paintings, as well as lanterns and snake-shaped toys.
Meanwhile, another 12 panda cubs at the Chengdu Research Base enjoyed a lively atmosphere with paper-cuttings, folding fans, and red lanterns -- symbols of good fortune and part of China's intangible cultural heritage.
These bears, making their collective debut, showcased a variety of personalities -- some were playful and curious, while others were more reserved. This charming display combined with traditional Chinese elements not only delighted the audience but also conveyed a profound message of harmony between humans and nature.
Since its establishment in November 2023, the CCRCGP has focused on building a world-class platform for panda protection and research.
The center and the Chengdu Research Base have worked together closely, promoting genetic diversity in the captive panda population and conducting over 10 academic exchanges.
They have made significant progress in key research areas, such as the protection of wild panda populations and their habitats, and the genetic diversity of captive pandas.
The collaboration also includes providing scientific guidance in five key areas of the Giant Panda National Park, including Wolong National Nature Reserve and Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve.
The center has established a global platform for promoting international cooperation and exchanges involving 18 zoos from 16 countries and regions, as well as 39 domestic animal breeding institutions and more than 10 scientific research institutes.
25 panda cubs make adorable debut via video in Sichuan ahead of Spring Festival
Li Yuhua, a farmer-turned forest ranger from a mountainous village in Dulongjiang Town, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has spent nine years protecting the forests in her hometown while helping local people increasing their incomes.
Li's family was once a registered impoverished household, relying mainly on corn farming for living. Things began to change for her family in 2016 when China launched a policy allowing registered impoverished population to work as ecological forest rangers, and Li became one of the first ecological forest rangers in the town.
"When I first began to work as a forest ranger, it was hard for me even to climb mountains, let alone climb rocks and cross rivers. But I told myself that since the country gave me this opportunity, I must do it well. I worked hard to improve my physical fitness and learn new skills, always actively taking the missions of patrolling mountains," said Li.
As Li often wears a colorful, vibrantly striped "Dulong blanket," a traditional clothing of the Dulong ethnic group, the villagers call her the "rainbow ranger."
"I think the name 'Rainbow Ranger' is beautiful. It makes me feel like a rainbow for us women of Dulong ethnic group guarding our homeland," Li said.
Dulong is a mountain-dwelling ethnic group in southwest China. It is one of the least populous of China's 56 ethnic groups, and the people were known for "direct transition" from primitive life to the modern socialist society at the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Most Dulong people live in Dulongjiang Town, where an inhospitable mountainous terrain used to thwart the place's development for decades. The town remained to be one of the poorest areas in Yunnan Province and even in the entire country. Thanks to government inputs and the development of industries with local features, the Dulong people have been experiencing remarkable life changes. In 2018, the Dulong ethnic group shook off poverty as a whole.
Beyond safeguarding forests, Li took the lead in developing non-timber forest-based economy in the town, guiding local residents to grow plants like Chinese black cardamom and wild-simulated lingzhi mushrooms as well as raising cattle and bees.
In 2025, the total output value of the town's non-timber forest-based economy reached nearly 30 million yuan (around 4.3 million U.S. dollars), with the annual average income of 43 households increasing by more than 20,000 yuan (around 2,900 U.S. dollars) each.
Li also established a cooperative for Dulong blanket making, attracting more than 170 women to learn traditional weaving techniques. They have developed 12 types of cultural and creative products, including shawls and scarves, and sold them worldwide through livestreaming, generating wealth for themselves.
"In the past, we only wove blankets for our own use. Now she teaches us to make the cultural and creative products and sell them. Last year, I earned more than 4,000 yuan (around 580 U.S. dollars) from weaving. I spent the money on my children's school fees and new appliances for my house," said Mu Jianying, member of the cooperative.
Li's dedication to both forestry and rural revitalization has earned her widespread recognition. In 2024, she was honored as model of ethnic solidarity and progress and received the title certificate from President Xi Jinping. She was also awarded the title of National March 8 Red-Banner Pacesetter, the highest honor presented by the All-China Women's Federation to the country's outstanding women, ahead of the International Women's Day observed on March 8.
Li said her achievements are the result of collective efforts.
"I often think that one person's strength is very limited, but the strength of a group is great. There are 195 ecological forest rangers like me protecting this land in the Dulongjiang Grand Canyon," she said.
As a female forest ranger, Li shared a message for women ahead of the International Women's Day.
"To mark the International Women's Day, I want to say to all my sisters: No matter what position we are in, as long as we are willing to endure hardship and work hard, we will surely weave our own rainbow," she said.
Forest ranger dedicated to guarding green mountains in Yunnan
Forest ranger dedicated to guarding green mountains in Yunnan
