Ocean Park to celebrate panda birthdays with slew of campaigns

Ocean Park has rolled out a raft of panda-themed campaigns to celebrate the birthdays of its six pandas from June through August.

They include the Hong Kong-born panda twins which will turn two years old on August 15th.

Ocean Park's panda-themed events and celebrations include performances, photo-taking spots, and the "Splash with Panda Friends" activity.

Apart from June-born giant pandas An An and Ke Ke which have just turned seven years old, Ocean Park is celebrating for Ying Ying and Le Le as well as panda twins Jia Jia and De De which were all born in August.

The special events begin on Monday and will run until the end of August.

Ocean Park Chairman Paulo Pong hopes the events can bring joy to both local and international visitors.

PAULO PONG, Chairman Ocean Park Corporation Board: "They have brought so much happiness to the park and Hong Kong citywide. It has gotten the park as well as Hong Kong to the international stage. And we look forward to the opening of our new exhibit next year some time in 2027 to house Jia Jia and De De."

The giant panda twins have grown rapidly over the past two years.The park will show special footage of their life and growth in Hong Kong during the celebrations.

Meanwhile Pong says starting from July 9th, the park will have three restaurants allowing pet dogs inside.

Visitors with year-round membership can bring their pet dogs into the park five days per week -- up from the current two days.

The park says since the opening of the Water World in May, visitor numbers have increased by 10 percent year-on-year.