HK celebrates first birthday of giant panda twins with brand collab

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), and Ocean Park are gearing up to celebrate the first birthday of giant panda twins "Jia Jia" and "De De" with a series of initiatives throughout August.

Born to their mother Ying Ying on 15 August 2024, Jia Jia and De De will soon turn one. Ocean Park is recruiting 20 toddlers born in Hong Kong who share the same birthday as the twins, along with their families, to join a special birthday party on 15 August. 

Families can enroll by commenting on a designated post on Ocean Park’s official Facebook and Instagram pages. Participants with the most thoughtful and creative comments will win a spot at the party. Toddlers attending will also have a chance to receive birthday gift packs from Ocean Park and its sponsors. 

In terms of intellectual property (IP), the CSTB, HKTB, and Ocean Park will host a “LABUBU x panda twins lucky draw” throughout August. This promotion marks the HKTB's first collaboration with Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, the creator of LABUBU, who has designed an exclusive birthday edition. Standing at 18 centimeters tall, this special edition LABUBU wears a birthday hat and features a sprinkle green finish with a transparent gradient inspired by bamboo. It also has heart motifs in its eyes as it cradles miniature versions of Jia Jia and De De.

Additionally, a content creator based in Hong Kong, Jazzie Sillona, has also produced a Hong Kong travel vlog featuring LABUBU and the panda twins, as well as visits to Victoria Harbour, Ocean Park, and other city landmarks. The clip will be uploaded to HKTB’s social media channels. 

The HKTB has also invited a lineup of international twin influencers to celebrate the occasion, including the Stokes Twins from the US, the Rybka Twins from Australia, and the Shake Twins from South Korea, as well as child influencer Wang Xiaomai from mainland China and panda photographer Kojiro Mizuo from Japan. These influencers will deliver birthday messages in Mandarin, English, Japanese, and Korean to mark the first birthday of the giant panda twins.

From late July, the CSTB and HKTB will transform Hong Kong’s tourism hotspots with panda-themed street signs in 32 streets in batches, each featuring customised designs that blend photos of the twin pandas with symbols of local cuisine, cultural elements, and landmarks. Seven signs will feature unique, site-specific artwork. The sign on First Street in Sai Ying Pun, for example, will show the twins in party hats with their birthday cake, while the sign in Fire Dragon Path in Causeway Bay will feature the twins joining the historic Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. 

Additionally, the HKTB will install new panda-themed decorations at the Kowloon Visitor Centre, located at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui. Approximately 40 different Ocean Park panda-themed souvenirs will also be available for visitors who wish to take home a memento of the celebrations.

On the twins’ birthday, 15 August, HKTB, Ocean Park, and MTR Corporation will jointly present the livestreams of the giant pandas’ birthday party. Commuters will be able to watch a 30-minute interactive live broadcast of the celebrations at Ocean Park on the giant screens in Hong Kong, Causeway Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui MTR stations at a designated time. 

Secretary for culture, sports and tourism Rosanna Law said, “I sincerely invite everyone in Hong Kong and visitors from around the world to celebrate the one-year-old birthday of Jia Jia and De De. I would also like to thank Lung for designing a special edition of LABUBU to commemorate the first birthday of the twin cubs. This allows us to leverage a globally recognised IP to promote Hong Kong and panda tourism worldwide.”

“I am delighted to collaborate with the HKTB and design this panda twins birthday special edition of LABUBU to share Hong Kong’s joyful energy with fans worldwide, and to play a part in promoting our city,” Lung said.

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