Panda prep: Hong Kong tourism chief leads team to Sichuan as city set to welcome new bears

Advance team already on site, with minister to arrive in coming days to discuss preparations for pandas gifted by Beijing, source says

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Tourism minister Kevin Yeung will lead a delegation Sichuan to prepare for the arrival of the giant pandas. Photo: Facebook/Kevin Yeung

Published: 11:55am, 3 Jul 2024Updated: 4:11pm, 3 Jul 2024

The tourism chief will lead a Hong Kong delegation to Sichuan to discuss preparations for the transfer of two giant pandas gifted by Beijing, while an advance team has already arrived in the province, the Post has learned.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung will lead the delegation to discuss arrangements for the pandas, including means of transport, quarantine and naming.

The source said on Wednesday that the delegation would be leaving in “a few days”.

The Post also learned that a team composed of representatives from the Hong Kong government and Ocean Park set off on Tuesday to Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas to urgently sort out arrangements for the new pandas.

They will lay the groundwork for Yeung and Ocean Park chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee, both of whom will visit the Sichuan centre when details are ready to be finalised, according to informed sources.

On Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu revealed that Beijing would be sending a new pair of giant pandas to Hong Kong to mark the 27th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty, adding that the two pandas would arrive within months.

They will be the third pair Beijing has gifted Hong Kong.