Twin pandas born in Belgium win "Panda Cub of the Year" Gold Award

Zookeepers holding the panda twins Bao Di (left) and Bao Mei at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium. Bao Di and Bao Mei, born last year in the Belgian zoo of Pairi Daiza, won the "Panda Cub of the Year" Gold Award. - Xinhua/ANN

BRUSSELS: Bao Di and Bao Mei, the two giant pandas born last year in the Belgian zoo of Pairi Daiza, won the "Panda Cub of the Year" Gold Award on Saturday (Jan 4).

The ceremony of 2019 Giant Panda Global Awards was held in Pairi Daiza.

It was organised by the Giant Panda Global website, a platform to promote conservation efforts for giant pandas.

About 328,445 votes were registered during online voting in 15 categories. There are gold, silver and bronze awards for each category.

During the award ceremony, Jeroen Jacobs of Giant Panda Global, announced the winners and played videos from award-winning zoos around the world. Zoo representatives from Belgium, Germany and Britain received awards.

"For the past 10 years, I have been going every year to China to see the pandas in their hometown.

"It's always nice to see how happy they are in Sichuan (the Chinese province) and the joys they've brought to people around the world," Jacobs told Xinhua. - Xinhua/Asian News Network