Hong Kong Throws City-Wide First Birthday Party for its Much-Loved Panda Twins

Hong Kong
Celebrations will break out across Hong Kong on 15 August as the city marks the first birthday of the city’s much-loved giant panda twins —big sister Jia Jia and little brother De De. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) continues to lead the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) in rolling out a series of promotions to coincide with the celebrations and transform Hong Kong into one giant birthday party. The HKTB has enlisted a roster of global friends, including famous twin influencers and the iconic LABUBU and its creator, Kasing Lung, to shower the pandas with birthday wishes from around the world. In an exclusive collaboration with Kasing Lung, the HKTB has created a Panda Twins birthday special edition of LABUBU that visitors to Ocean Park Hong Kong (Ocean Park) can win throughout August.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said, “Thanks to the meticulous care of the Mainland giant panda experts and the Ocean Park’s animal care team, the Hong Kong–born panda cubs, Jia Jia and De De, have grown exponentially. They have brought joy to the public and sparked a citywide panda craze. I sincerely invite everyone in Hong Kong and visitors from around the world to celebrate the one-year-old birthday of Jia Jia and De De. I would also like to thank Mr Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong artist, for designing a special edition of LABUBU to commemorate the first birthday of the twin cubs. This allows us to leverage a globally recognised IP to promote Hong Kong and panda tourism worldwide.”

A lineup of international twin influencers has been brought together by the HKTB to celebrate the occasion, including the Stokes Twins from the United States (190 million followers), the Rybka Twins from Australia (24 million followers), and the Shake Twins from South Korea (3.2 million followers), as well as hugely popular child influencer Wang Xiaomai from Mainland (26 million followers) and renowned panda photographer Kojiro Mizuo from Japan. These internationally acclaimed influencers will deliver heartfelt birthday messages in Mandarin, English, Japanese, and Korean to mark the first birthday of the giant panda twins.

Throughout August, the CSTB, the HKTB, and Ocean Park are hosting a “LABUBU x Panda Twins Lucky Draw”. The promotion is the HKTB’s first collaboration with Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung – creator of the hugely popular LABUBU – who has designed an exclusive birthday edition. Standing 18 centimetres tall, the special edition LABUBU wears a birthday hat and is covered in sprinkle green and a transparent gradient finish inspired by bamboo. LABUBU has heart motifs in its eyes as it cradles miniature versions of Jia Jia and De De.

The artist declared, “I am delighted to collaborate with the HKTB and design this Panda Twins birthday special edition of LABUBU to share Hong Kong’s joyful energy with fans worldwide, and to play a part in promoting our city.”

A lucky draw for the special edition LABUBU will be held throughout August. All locals and visitors can pre-register on the event website. From 1 August to 31 August, they can participate in the lucky draw when visiting the Park for a chance to win one of approximately 300 birthday gift boxes containing the birthday-edition LABUBU and a commemorative birthday card. Additional gift boxes will be available during the birthday celebrations from 15 to 17 August. For more details, please visit www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/what-s-new/panda.html

Trade Promotion Competition Licence No.: 60184 – 60369 (Only applicable to lucky draw).

Jazzie Sillona (@jazziesillona), a popular content creator based in Hong Kong, has also produced a Hong Kong Travel Vlog following LABUBU and the panda twins to Victoria Harbour, Ocean Park, and other city landmarks. The clip will be uploaded to HKTB’s social media channels. (Reference link: youtube.com/shorts/hXpTCdzoy48)

From late July, the CSTB and HKTB will transform Hong Kong’s tourism hotspots with panda-themed street signs in 32 streets in batches, each featuring customised designs that blend photos of the twin pandas with symbols of local cuisine, cultural elements, and landmarks. Seven signs will feature unique, site-specific artwork. The sign on First Street in Sai Ying Pun, for example, will show the twins in party hats with their birthday cake, while the sign in Fire Dragon Path in Causeway Bay will feature the twins joining the historic Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. In addition, HKTB will install new panda-themed decorations at the Kowloon Visitor Centre at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui. Approximately 40 different Ocean Park panda-themed souvenirs will also be available for visitors who wish to take home a memento of the celebrations.

On the twins’ birthday – 15 August – HKTB, Ocean Park, and MTR Corporation will jointly present the livestreams of the giant pandas’ birthday party. Commuters will be able to watch a 30-minute interactive live broadcast of the celebrations at Ocean Park on the giant screens in Hong Kong, Causeway Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui MTR stations at a designated time.

“Hong Kong Summer Viva”: A City-wide Fiesta with Deals Galore

The birthday celebrations coincide with the HKTB’s “Hong Kong Summer Viva” campaign, which targets both locals and visitors and features over 260 special offers from theme parks, hotels, restaurants, and retailers. You can browse all the deals on a dedicated page on the Discover Hong Kong website (www.discoverhongkong.com/hk-eng/what-s-new/events/summer-viva.html).