San Diego Zoo celebrates Chinese New Year

A woman attaches a note of wishes on the wish tree at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)

SAN DIEGO, the United States, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Paul Baribault, president and CEO of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Guo Shaochun co-hosted the opening ceremony of the event.

"As part of our wishes for the lunar new year, we want to wish joy and prosperity to all of our friends. That includes everybody here today as well as our partners around the globe," Baribault told Xinhua after he wrote his new year wishes on a red blessing card and tied it to a "wishing tree."

Interactive activities related to the Chinese New Year surrounded the zoo, he said, adding that "we are really trying to take advantage of the moment of the transition to the Lantern Festival and using that as a moment of celebration across all of our grounds."

The staff wore bright red T-shirts with "Chinese New Year" written on them, and introduced to tourists that 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, and those born during this zodiac year are known for being calm, agile, and prosperous.

Tourists scrambled to write their wishes on red cards and hang them on the "wishing trees" along the roadside. They could also learn traditional Chinese paper cutting and make red lanterns and rabbit ears.

Guo highlighted the zoo's cooperation with its Chinese partners over 30 years on a research project on giant pandas, which is the first one between the two countries.

"Giant pandas were loved by the local American people. Cooperation and research in the field of diversity have also promoted friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples," he added.

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is known for its global cooperation in promoting biodiversity conservation and education, and has long-term cooperation with China in the breeding and protection of giant pandas.

The panda "Bai Yun," which means "White Cloud" in Chinese, lived in the San Diego Zoo for 23 years and became the symbol of the zoo. "Baiyun" and its last cub baby "Xiao Liwu," which means "Little Gift" in Chinese, returned to their hometown in China in 2019, but the pavilion where they lived is still a popular spot for tourists.

The zoo held a three-week farewell event for their departure and around 1,000 local residents lined up at the zoo to say goodbye.

"We've been incredibly close partners," said Baribault about their Chinese partners, noting that his greater wish is to continue to maintain a cooperative relationship with Chinese partners in the field of nature protection in the new year.

"We believe it's our role to help create greater cultural understandings... cultures around the world can connect people to each other to understand the differences and similarities," Baribault said.

A boy attaches a note of wishes on the wish tree at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)

A staff member dresses up as a panda to celebrate the Chinese New Year at San Diego Zoo, in San Diego, California, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2023. The San Diego Zoo, which has the largest number of annual visitors among U.S. zoos, kicked off a two-day special event on Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. (Photo by Zeng Hui/ Xinhua)