Giant pandas An An, Ke Ke make much awaited HK debut

National treasures gifted to SAR from central government excite crowds

Over an hour before Ocean Park opened its gates at 10 am on Sunday, a palpable sense of excitement filled the air among the large group of visitors waiting to enter Hong Kong's largest theme park.

They were united for one purpose: catching their first glimpse of An An and Ke Ke, the pair of giant pandas recently given by the central government as a gift to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The national treasures made their public debut in the city that day.

Despite a city-wide naming contest that garnered more than 22,000 suggestions, the decision was made that An An and Ke Ke would retain their original names.