28-06-2025
4 pandas leave Japan for China, leaving only 2 in the country
All four giant
pandas on loan to a western
Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement.
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The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring – Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin – left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in
China 's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator.
Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February.
About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony.
Giant pandas (clockwise from top) Rauhin, Yuihin, Fuhin and Saihin, at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture. Photo: Kyodo
'It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China,' said Chisato Noda from Nagoya.
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