Three panda cubs including a pair of twins make their first appearance at the Qinling Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding of Shaanxi Academy of Forestry in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
Meet Qinku'er, Jiajia and Yuanyuan, the three giant panda cubs born in a breeding research base in Shaanxi Province this year!
XI'AN, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three giant panda cubs, born in July and August this year, were given names Monday, according to a giant panda breeding research base in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
The names of the three cubs were announced at a 100-day-old celebration: giant panda Lousheng's cub was named "Qinku'er," and the pair of cubs born to giant panda Zhuzhu were named "Jiajia" and "Yuanyuan."
Three panda cubs including a pair of twins make their first appearance at the Qinling Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding of Shaanxi Academy of Forestry on Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
"Qinku'er" means the cub was born in the Qinling Mountains, while "Jiajia" and "Yuanyuan" stand for the national park or home, said Zan Linsen, deputy director of the provincial forestry bureau.
Three panda cubs make their first appearance at the Qinling Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding of Shaanxi Academy of Forestry on Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
In China, people often celebrate when a baby turns 100 days old with family members and friends, giving their best wishes to the baby. Staff at the center used apples Monday to form four characters, wishing the three panda babies good health and happiness.
Yuan Yuan, one of the twin panda cubs, makes its first appearance at the Qinling Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding of Shaanxi Academy of Forestry on Nov. 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
The birth of the three cubs increased the center's captive panda population to 26. "Their birth marks that Shaanxi has fully mastered the captive-breeding technique of giant pandas," said Zan.
The number of wild pandas living in the Qinling Mountains has increased from 109 in the 1980s to 345. ■