Visitors flock as Xiang Xiang viewing on first-come basis starts

February 2, 2018

Tokyo- Visitors flocked to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Thursday as the public viewing of its female giant panda cub, Xiang Xiang, on a first-come, first-served basis started the day.

Some 1,200 people queued in front of the zoo in Taito Ward even before it opened at 9:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. GMT).

Upon the opening, Xiang Xiang fans who were eagerly waiting for the day to arrive rushed to an area where they can get tickets to see the panda.

They saw her hang from and nearly fall off a tree, and bite into logs. The viewers' excitement reached its peak when Xiang Xiang toddled over toward them, with some letting out squeals of delight and others saying aloud, "Here she comes!"

"I took a lot of really good photos of Xiang Xiang when she came near me," said Rin Yasue, 14, from Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, who stood in line waiting from 7:30 a.m.

Yasue, a second-year junior high school student, came to the zoo on her day off as her school had entrance exams on Thursday.

"Xiang Xiang is cute," Seiichiro Kotaki, 3, from Taito Ward, exclaimed. He smiled and nodded when his grandmother, Mitsuko, 62, told him, "Let's come to see Xiang Xiang again."

Since the public debut of the hugely popular animal in December last year, only people chosen by lot were allowed to see the cub, with the viewing time limited.

Officials of the zoo say that the daily number of people who can see Xiang Xiang will rise to up to about 9,500 due to the change in the public viewing methods and also because the daily viewing time has been extended almost until the end of the opening hours. Jiji Press