Giant panda twins celebrate fourth birthday in Chongqing

Giant panda twins Qing Hua and Qing Lu on Wednesday celebrated their fourth birthday at a wildlife park in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality with special cakes made of bamboo, vegetables, and fruits prepared by the zoo keepers.

In January 2024, four giant pandas including Qing Hua and Qing Lu arrived at the Lehe Ledu Theme Park in Chongqing. Thanks to the devoted care of their keepers, they quickly adapted to their lives in the new home.

The twin panda sisters were born on August 6, 2021, at the Shenshuping giant panda base of Wolong National Nature Reserve of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

The older sister Qing Hua, with a round face, is slightly smaller and active, while the younger sister Qing Lu, with a smaller face, is more graceful in her movements.

Many visitors came to the park to send their birthday wishes to the beloved pandas.

Giant panda twins celebrate fourth birthday in Chongqing

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.

China's aggregate social financing maintains high growth in 2025