Panda Party Parade: Panda birthdays celebrated across China and beyond, drawing crowds and boosting eco-awareness

Every summer, China enters what many call "panda birthday season," as a curious quirk of nature has led to many of the country's beloved giant pandas being born during the warmer months. To mark these joyful occasions, zoos across the country - and around the world - are throwing elaborate parties for these national treasures, drawing legions of fans and generating buzz for the "panda economy." 

On Tuesday, Jin Hu, a 15-year-old panda and an online sensation, celebrated his birthday at the Dalian Forest Zoo in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Crowds gathered as Jin Hu was presented with a multi-tiered ice cake made of fruit and bamboo. A highlight of the day was an arcade-style food dispenser, which Jin Hu quickly figured out how to operate by pressing buttons, drawing rounds of applause, according to CCTV.

Xiang Guo, a female panda at the Hangzhou Zoo in East China's Zhejiang Province, turned 5 on July 6. To mark the occasion, zookeepers crafted a five-layer "luxury" cake from ice, topped with fresh bamboo leaves, apples, corn, and her favorite treat - pumpkin. Despite the many layers of glass and people crowding to watch her celebration, Xiang Guo remained calm and poised throughout, the China Youth Daily reported.

Meanwhile, a first birthday celebration on June 18 for Mei Zhu at the Chimelong Safari Park in South China's Guangdong Province was equally elaborate. Mei Zhu, the daughter of Meng Meng, one of the world's only surviving captive panda triplets, received a spaceship-shaped climbing frame and was appointed as a "national treasure tour guide" to help promote panda knowledge. A birthday checkup showed she now weighs 27.1 kilograms and is developing healthily, according to the China News Service.

One of the most endearing features of these celebrations is China's traditional zhuazhou ceremony, where infants choose among symbolic items predicting their future. Mei Zhu was offered objects like a "bamboo shoot pen" and "carrot key," ultimately picking the latter. Online, fans joked she was destined to become a "landlady."

Another zhuazhou event took place at the Chongqing Zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality for Qi Ying on June 28, who also turned 1. Before an enthusiastic crowd, the playful cub first grasped a bamboo sword and then a calligraphy brush, prompting onlookers to nickname her the "Kung Fu Panda" for her blend of might and intellect.

Even pandas whose birthdays are still weeks away are getting ready to party. In Hong Kong, the Ocean Park will kick off festivities this month for twin cubs Jia Jia and De De, who turn 1 in mid-August. The park plans a series of events themed around panda families and popular cartoon characters, according to a report by Ta Kung Pao.

Globally, panda birthday fever is just as intense. 

On June 29, nearly 40,000 visitors gathered at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City to celebrate the 35th birthday of Xin Xin, currently the world's oldest panda living outside China. Born and raised in Mexico, Xin Xin is a descendant of a panda pair gifted by the Chinese government in 1975, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In South Korea, the Everland Zoo celebrated the second birthday of popular twin pandas Rui Bao and Hui Bao on Monday. Fans gathered in droves, some traveling long distances for the occasion. According to a zookeeper, this marks the last birthday the twins will spend with their mother, Ai Bao, as they enter their independent phase, typically between 18 months and 2 years, according to the People's Daily.