China will send two pandas to Singapore to mark next year's 20th anniversary of bilateral relations in the latest example of Beijing's "panda diplomacy", the city-state's zoo operator said Wednesday.
The announcement was made Wednesday evening by President Hu Jintao during a meeting with Singapore President S. R. Nathan.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the government-controlled operator of the city-state's acclaimed zoo and other wildlife attractions, said the pandas, a male and female, would arrive in 2011 -- a year after the 20th anniversary -- and be housed at River Safari, a new attraction being built.
They will be loaned to Singapore for 10 years
Hsing-Hsing, the National Zoo's 26-year-old panda, enjoys a carrot at the zoo in Washington Wednesday, April 23, 1997. The panda, a 1972 gift from China, underwent cancer surgery on Tuesday with veterinarians removing an enlarged, tumorous testicle.
Hua Mei, the San Diego Zoo's giant panda cub, bottom, is cuddled by her mother, Bai Yun, Friday, Jan. 14, 2000, during the cub's first foray in the outside exhibit area of the Pacific Bell Foundation Giant Panda Research Station in San Diego.
Like Carrying an umbrella.. but e umbrella looks pathetic.. but its cute :)
A giant panda bear chews bamboo leaves at the Wolong Panda research center in Sichuan, southwestern China in this photo taken Sept. 7, 2002. For years, the government has been lending pandas out to zoos around the world, charging fees of up to $1.2 million annually and spending the revenues on research, breeding and protection in the wild. The practice has not been without controversy. Critics have complained in the past that the "rent-a-panda" operation made big profits for some zoos without boosting efforts to save wild pandas.
The San Diego Zoo's male giant panda cub Mei Sheng plays with a small ball after his weekly exam Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2003 at the SBC Giant Panda Station in San Diego. The Zoo's animal care staff introduced enrichment items to the 5-month-old giant panda in an effort to appease his growing sense of curiosity and playfulness.
Mei Sheng, the San Diego Zoo's giant panda cub, appears to be whispering into the ear of his mother, Bai Yun, at the cub's first birthday celebration Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004, at the zoo in San Diego.
Chuang Chuang , a male panda, left, plays on the ground, as Lin Hui, right, a female panda, feeds bamboos and carrots to celebrate her fourth birthday at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai, Thailand in this 2005 file photo. Chuang Chuang the Panda is just too heavy to have sex. That is the conclusion of Thai authorities, who have put the male panda on a strict diet as part of a long-running campaign to get him to mate with the female partner.
Rock 'N' Roll
Giant pandas Tuan Tuan, left, and Yuan Yuan play in a breeding base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province on Feb. 17, 2006. The pair of pandas left China Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008 on a long-awaited goodwill journey to their new home in Taiwan in the latest move symbolizing the warming ties between the rivals.
Tai Shan, the US's National Zoos giant panda cub, plays in a tree at his home at the zoo in this 2006 photo. Tai Shan, whose name means peaceful mountain in Chinese, was conceived in 2005 through artificial insemination in a procedure performed by National Zoo scientists and veterinarians.
Wahh... PANDA WATCH PORN!!!
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Chuang Chuang, right, a giant panda looks at a video screen showing DVD of fellow pandas mating at Chiang Mai zoo in Chiang Mai province, northern in this 2007 photo. In an effort to get the bear to mate with his female partner Lin Hui, the officials introduced DVDs of other pandas mating to get the pair in the mood. The two pandas were rented from China for US$250,000 in October 2003 for 10 years.
Giant pandas Ying Ying, right, and Lok Lok are given feed inside the new giant panda habitat at the Hong Kong Ocean Park on Saturday June 30, 2007. The two giant pandas are gifts from China to Hong Kong to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule.
Giant panda named Xi Xi, which went missing from the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center after the May 12 2008 Sichuan earthquake, was carried by workers after it was found alive and anesthetized Monday morning, May 26, 2008 near the facilities in Wolong, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Lin Hui, a 7-year old panda, and its two-days-old cub are seen at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, Friday, May 29, 2009. The cub whose birth surprised Thai zoo officials is a healthy female that appears to be bonding well with its much larger mother.
A zoological expert examines a 15-year-old giant panda near a reservoir in Ya'an in southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday, March 20, 2006. The panda, discovered by local people on March 17, is in ill health, with fever symptoms. Experts have said that the building of the reservoir has posed a threat to pandas living in the area.
the only Mulan I've ever watched was the disney version.. and I loved the story and soundtrack that came with it.. can't wait to see how this chinese version will fare!
collecting tickets at the reception... show starts at 715pm SHARP! Ticket collection starts at 645pm..
a movie date! -taken by a kind OMY staff at the reception desk-
a ticket admits 2.. and were all ready for the show!
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