Madrid Zoo celebrates birthday of Chinese giant pandas

China

Madrid Zoo celebrates birthday of Chinese giant pandas

2025-09-21 14:32 Last Updated At：17:37

Spain's Madrid Zoo Aquarium held a series of celebration on Saturday for the fifth birthday of its two giant pandas, Jin Xi and Zhu Yu, drawing crowds of visitors eager to share in the occasion.

Jin Xi, a male panda, and female Zhu Yu, both born in 2020, arrived in April of last year at the zoo following the renewal of its agreement for giant panda protection with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. According to the agreement, the pandas will remain in Spain for a period of ten years.

The celebration featured a specially crafted birthday cake made of the pandas' favorite treats, including fresh bamboo and watermelon.

"Many people are drawn to the zoo specifically because we have the lovely pandas, Zhu Yu and Jin Xi. We hope they will continue to live at our zoo, and we also hope to maintain our excellent cooperative relationship with the Chinese government," said Enrique Perez, director of the Madrid Zoo.

Visitors at the zoo have also expressed their affection for the animals.

"Our whole family came to the Madrid Zoo today because we have a special affection for giant pandas. On this special day, we hope to be here in person to give the pandas our best wishes," said Juan, a zoo visitor.

"We really hope to go to China one day to see the giant pandas for ourselves, to see what they are like living in their habitat," said Oscar, another visitor.

In addition, Chinese performers delivered a wonderful acrobatic show in honor of the occasion.

Giant pandas are known as "cultural ambassadors" of China to the world. Since the 1990s, China has carried out joint protection research initiatives with 26 institutions from 20 countries and successfully bred over 60 giant panda cubs.

China builds over 5,500 green mines, advances sustainable mining

China has established more than 5,500 green mines at or above the provincial level, marking positive progress in the country's green mining development, an official from the Ministry of Natural Resources said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday ahead of this year's World Earth Day.

According to Dong Qingji, deputy director general of the Ministry of Natural Resources' department of mineral resources protection and supervision, green mining requirements have been written into the Mineral Resources Law and the Ecological Environment Code, providing strong legal backing. A working system featuring government guidance, departmental coordination, enterprise leadership and public supervision is now largely in place.

China is accelerating the construction of green mines and will organize the selection of a new batch of national-level green mines. Currently, there are over 1,000 national-level green mines and more than 4,500 provincial-level green mines in the country.

Looking ahead, the ministry will continue to promote the construction and operation of all newly built mines in accordance with green mine standards, while speeding up the green transformation and upgrading of existing operating mines. For mines that have not yet initiated green transition, they are required to launch green mine construction as soon as possible, fulfill their obligations for ecological restoration in mining areas, and strengthen ecological restoration and governance in these areas.