Zookeepers hold the panda twins "Bao Di" (R) and "Bao Mei" at the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, Nov. 14, 2019. The giant panda twins who were given birth in August by giant panda Hao Hao, were given official names on their 100-day celebration on Thursday. The male cub was named as "Bao Di" and the female cub was named as "Bao Mei". Hao Hao was loaned by the Chinese government to Belgium in 2014. The pair of giant panda cubs were the second and third cubs born in the Pairi Daiza zoo, following the June 2016 birth of Tian Bao, the first giant panda ever born in the European country. Photo:Xinhua

What was supposed to be a delightful experience for some children visiting the Chongqing Zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has turned into an investigation of employees who allegedly brought the visitors into close contact with panda cubs. 

A group of visitors, including some children, wearing simple isolation gowns, but no gloves, had their dreams come true in the Chongqing Zoo when they got the chance to interact with panda cubs and posted the experience on the streaming service on Tik Tok, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Video posted online shows a young girl patting two of the cubs who are around five months old and appear to weigh more than 20 kilograms. 

The zoo administration is investigating the case and told the paper that the zoo's panda handlers violated regulations by allowing the visitors so close to the cubs, which could endanger their health, according some experts. 

The employees could face serious punishment.

Close contact between unprotected visitors and the young cubs violates epidemic prevention protocols, said a panda expert. 

"If the unauthorized visitor keeps a dogs at home and if the dog were infected with distemper (a deadly canine disease), the panda cubs might be exposed to the disease and get infected," the expert told the report on Saturday.