On the afternoon of June 27 (local time), Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, held a farewell ceremony for four giant pandas that will soon be returned to China. The event attracted more than 3,000 panda fans from all over Japan.
The ceremony featured a retrospective of the precious memories the pandas created during their time at Adventure World and offered heartfelt wishes for their new life ahead.
Koji Imazu, Director of Adventure World, and Xue Jian, Consul General of China in Osaka, attended the event and delivered speeches.
On May 23, Adventure World announced that the four giant pandas currently residing in the park would be sent back to China on June 28.
The four pandas to be returned are the wife and daughters of the famous giant panda “Eimei,” known as a “Sino-Japanese Friendship Ambassador.” They include 24-year-old mother “Rauhin 良浜,” and her daughters “Yuihin 结浜” (8 years old), “Saihin 彩浜” (6 years old), and “Fuhin 枫浜” (4 years old).
June 27 marked the final day these four pandas would appear in public. Many visitors from across Japan came to say an emotional goodbye to them.