According to comprehensive reports from media, the four-year-old giant panda twins Xiao Xiao (male) and Lei Lei (female) at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, will return to China on January 27, 2026. The two pandas will depart for China from Narita Airport by plane on the night of the 27th.
They are expected to arrive at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province on January 28, where their mother Xiannv and elder sister Xiang Xiang reside.
With the repatriation of these two pandas, the over-half-a-century-long history of giant panda breeding in Japan will come to an end. This history dates back to October 1972, when a pair of giant pandas named Kangkang and Lanlan arrived at Ueno Zoo. (XiaoXiao, LeiLei)