The first locally-born giant panda cubs at Ocean Park Hong Kong made their public debut Sunday, and residents are encouraged to propose names for the cuddly twins.
The bears were born last August, becoming the first successfully born pair of giant panda cubs in Hong Kong.
Their parents, Ying Ying and Le Le, are the second pair of giant pandas gifted by China's central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
At birth, the female cub weighed approximately 122 grams, and the male cub weighed around 112 grams.
Under the careful 24-hour care from the staff at Ocean Park, both cubs have gained weight, now exceeding 10 kilograms each.
The cubs are available for public viewing daily from 10:00 to 15:00, with up to 5,000 people expected to have the chance to see the cubs each day.
Currently, the panda twins have not been named.
A naming competition, organized by the HKSAR's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and co-hosted by the Ocean Park Hong Kong, was launched on Saturday.
Hong Kong residents are encouraged to suggest a pair of names for the twin cubs by observing their physical features and characteristics, as well as the interaction between the cubs and their daily lives. Results will be announced in the first half of this year.
Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs meet public
Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs to meet public
Hong Kong-born giant panda cubs to meet public
China's transportation system is expecting to handle a significant surge in travel as the May Day holiday, a five-day holiday season that starts on Friday, is just around the corner.
The railway sector handled the first round of travel peak on Thursday, with a total of 19.95 million passenger trips to be carried out, marking a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent, according to China Railway.
Throughout the holiday, the railway authorities will add night high-speed trains on major lines, including those from capital Beijing to other large cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Harbin.
On average, about 700 night high-speed train trips will be additionally scheduled per day.
According to a report released by the Ministry of Transport on Wednesday, throughout the five-day holiday, China's expressway network is set to see an average daily traffic volume of about 64 million vehicles.
The departing traffic peak is expected to fall on the first day of the holiday, with the volume projected to hit a high of 70 million vehicle trips, the highest single-day travel volume compared with the May Day holidays in other years.
Travel during the May Day holiday is mainly for holiday making, with travelers heading towards diverse destinations. They may embark on inter-city short trips or travel to rural areas, the report said.
According to the civil aviation authorities, throughout the May Day holiday, the civil aviation sector is expected to handle a total of 11 million passenger trips, with a daily average of 2.2 million.
The travel peak is projected to fall at the beginning and the end of the holiday season, the authorities said.
China's transportation system expects to handle travel surge as May Day holiday approaches
