Chapultepec Zoo celebrates 35th birthday of panda Xin Xin in Mexico City

The Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City on Sunday celebrated the 35th birthday of the giant panda Xin Xin, who is the oldest among the rare Chinese animals living overseas.

Xin Xin is the grandchild of two giant pandas, Ying Ying and Bei Bei, who were presented to Mexico by the Chinese government in the 1970s. Currently, the female panda is the only giant panda in Latin America.

A 35-year-old panda is roughly equivalent to a 110-year-old human.

The Chapultepec Zoo has always taken good care of Xin Xin by building an air-conditioned house for her, growing bamboos to ensure pandas' adaptation to local climate and food, and adding Cactus leaves, a local specialty, into her diet.

The zoo prepared a birthday cake, fruits and fresh bamboos for Xin Xin, and hundreds of Mexicans came to the zoo to attend the birthday celebration, many of whom wrote down their best wishes to her.

"We know that Xin Xin is going to celebrate her 35th birthday. If I remember correctly, it may be on Monday? We are very glad to see her up close. Usually, we don't see her every time we come. I'm so excited," said a local resident.

"Today is Xin Xin's 35th birthday. From my outfit, you can see that I'm a panda fan," said another one.

"What I wrote for her is 'Happy Birthday to You, Xin Xin' from Santiago," said a boy.

Chapultepec Zoo celebrates 35th birthday of panda Xin Xin in Mexico City

Chapultepec Zoo celebrates 35th birthday of panda Xin Xin in Mexico City

Chapultepec Zoo celebrates 35th birthday of panda Xin Xin in Mexico City

Chapultepec Zoo celebrates 35th birthday of panda Xin Xin in Mexico City

Footage released in early November by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwest China’s Sichuan Province shows one panda drooling as it rests its head in the fork of a tree, another clutching a slice of pumpkin in both paws, and a third taking careful bites while lounging behind a log.

The videos were filmed on separate days in September and October at the base’s No. 1 Giant Panda Villa and Sunshine Delivery House.

The pandas’ menu includes wowotou, a steamed bun made fresh by keepers from corn, soybeans, rice, oats, wheat, eggs, vegetable oil, minerals and vitamins. The ingredients are mixed in measured proportions to supplement the diet of captive pandas.

The Chengdu base is a world-renowned center for ex situ conservation, scientific research and breeding, public education and ecotourism, focusing on the protection of giant pandas, red pandas and other threatened wildlife native to China.

Pandas munch treats, nibble away at Chengdu base