The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in southwest China's Sichuan Province announced on Thursday that it has welcomed the year's first giant panda twins born in captivity, with both cubs in good health.
The cubs were delivered by a panda named Qianqian at the Ya'an base of CCRCGP on June 10.
In her enclosure, Qianqian constantly licked her cub while caring for it, keeping it warm, clean, and free from infection, while also maintaining skin moisture and promoting defecation. The other cub is in the nursery under staff care. The two cubs will take turns staying with their mother.
Staff said captive pandas have a 50-50 chance of having a single cub or twins. Since a mother cannot raise two cubs at once, the center lets the mother raise one while keepers care for the other to boost survival rates.
Qianqian was born on September 11, 2006, mated naturally at the Wolong Shenshuping base in early February and was transferred to the Ya'an base later that month.
First giant panda twins of 2026 born at Chinese conservation center
First giant panda twins of 2026 born at Chinese conservation center
A song that brought together singers from five countries highlighted the theme of "all under heaven are one family" in a special program that China Media Group (CMG) aired on Friday to mark the Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival.
The five singers were from China, Malaysia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Brazil. They sang the song with a chorus of railway workers, while people from different ethnic groups danced along to the melody.
Broadcast on CMG's multiple platforms and featuring micro documentaries, the special program has four main parts which were inspired by four sequences of the dragon boat folk customs: Qi Long (dragon awakening), Zhao Jing (villages exchanging invitations for gathering of dragon boats), dragon boat racing, and returning to the shore.
The annual festival on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar fell on Friday this year. It is a time to get rid of misfortune as venomous animals and insects were believed to appear at this time of year. It is also a time to commemorate the beloved Chinese poet Qu Yuan (339-278 BC) from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). Activities such as dragon boat races and eating Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) have been passed down as traditional customs to celebrate the festival.
CMG's Duanwu Festival program highlights global togetherness
