25 panda cubs make adorable debut via video in Sichuan ahead of Spring Festival

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

The Langqi passenger terminal in Fuzhou of east China's Fujian Province officially commenced a new departure tax refund initiative for travelers heading on the "mini three links" route on Tuesday, with streamlined measures boosting the efficiency of tax refunds and speeding up customs clearance procedures.

The "mini three links" refers to direct trade, postal and transport services launched in 2001 between Fujian Province and the Taiwan-administered Kinmen and Matsu islands. It serves as a vital, convenient cross-strait passage for personnel exchanges and economic and trade interactions between the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region.

At the heart of the upgraded service is an optimized procedure dubbed the "one document, one bag, one code" process, a simple and streamlined model designed to shorten clearance time for outbound passengers.

Under this framework, travelers who make purchases at designated pilot tax refund stores can have their qualified goods consolidated into a single sealed bag, with all corresponding tax refund information integrated into a unique QR code printed on the tax refund application form.

When departing via the Langqi passenger terminal, on-site customs officers only need to scan the QR code to retrieve and verify the details relating to the applicant's tax refund application. Travelers can then get quick customs clearance once the information is confirmed to be accurate, with no requirement to open their sealed shopping bags for repeated inspections.

Departure tax refund services launched at "mini three links" port in Fuzhou