This time on my trip to Ocean Park I made it around the whole park to check all the other animals and attractions out – last time I only went around the Waterfront section, this time I took the train up the mountain to the Summit section. Even though I’m not big on rides, it was still worth making the short trip here (the train only took maybe 5mins, and I hardly had to wait any time for it at all) for the amazing views and also some more animals!
And of course, can’t forget about the sweet new family of 4 living at Ocean Park – dad Le Le 乐乐, mum Ying Ying 盈盈and new baby twins, older sister Jia Jia 加加 and younger brother De De 得得! I was so happy to visit Hong Kong last year and had a great time visiting Le Le and Ying Ying, they gave me a fantastic panda viewing experience. I was overjoyed to hear Ying Ying had become a first-time mum at 19 and twins at that^ I timed my visit unknowingly perfectly, and visited just a few days after the twins were on show to the public for the first time so I got to see them too!
Continue Reading “Panda-cub craziness with the treasured OCEAN PARK HONG KONG panda family in February 2025”
So excited to share a brand new pair of pandas living at Ocean Park! On the 1st of July 2024 it was announced that a new pair of pandas was being gifted to Hong Kong – super exciting as this made me want to go back and visit again after having just been in May 2024. The pandas chosen were male An An 安安 (who I saw in Ya’an Bifengxia Base in May 2024) and female Ke Ke 可可, who were both 5 years old on their arrival in Hong Kong. They arrived on the 26th of September 2024 and went on show to the public from the 8th of December 2024. The pair are living in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures section of the park, which I quite like as it means you have two very different areas to see pandas in – this was the original home of the first pandas living at Ocean Park, An An and Jia Jia who lived amazing lives into their 30’s and were much loved there. The viewing area for seeing the pandas in this building is smaller than the other area, however there are two levels to the pathway which I like and the front windows are quite long, a surprisingly large number of people can fit along and get a view at once and there were always staff members there to keep people moving (and also keep the noise down). All viewing here is through glass, but because it’s inside there isn’t the stress of the reflection of the sun and overall it’s quite a dark environment which works quite well for viewing through the window, which was also very clean – I had no issues getting photos at all! I visited the building several times across the day and never needed to queue up or wait to get a spot to see either panda, I think with the twins having just gone on show, that there were maybe fewer visitors heading this way so that worked in my favour to give these guys some attention too^
Since my first (and only) visit to Ocean Park only 9 months ago so much has changed! Knowing that a new adult pair of pandas was arriving from China, I was already keen to visit again and see them, but the birth of twins to first-time mum Ying Ying at 19 years old, well it was no question that I would return on my next trip! From stepping off the metro at the park entrance, the impact of both the twins and the new pandas could be seen – panda-mania has overtaken Hong Kong! In the days leading up to my visit my social media pages were absolutely filled with all the places you could see panda pictures, food and merch over Hong Kong, and I got incredibly lucky in that I was already travelling when it was announced that the twins would make their debut on February 16th – my visit was on the 21st! I don’t think it had crossed my mind that I might not see them XD
I ended my trip staying in panda-paradise – what panda lover wouldn’t want to stay in a panda themed hotel?!?! When visiting the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou I knew I wanted to stay nearby to make the most of my time there. Chimelong has a whole series of resorts, with the Guangzhou site being just one of them with a number of parks, activities and hotels on offer, of course I chose the Chimelong Panda Hotel for my stay! They’ve gone all out, it is completely all about the pandas here. When I went on to Hong Kong I knew I also wanted to stay close to Ocean Park, and you can’t get closer than the Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel. It’s quite literally on the doorstep of the park, and while the whole hotel isn’t panda themed, you can choose a panda themed room!
Continue Reading “Two nights, two PANDA HOTELS – staying in the Chimelong Panda Hotel and Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel”