Giant panda Hua Hua Photo: VCG

As July 4 marks the birthday of giant panda He Hua, aka Hua Hua, her twin brother He Ye, and Meng Lan, Chinese netizens expressed their best wishes to the three top stars on social media platforms on Tuesday.

In a video posted online, a group of fans of Hua Hua and He Ye sang the Happy Birthday song to the two birthday stars at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan Province and brought banners and posters to celebrate their birthday.

To celebrate the three cute pandas' birthdays, keepers at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and the Beijing Zoo, where Meng Lan lives, both prepared elaborate carrot-apple birthday cakes for them.

"It is hoped that Hua Hua and He Ye will grow up happily and have big apples to eat every day," a netizen said.

He Hua (nicknamed Hua Hua) has captivated the hearts of Chinese people thanks to her mild temperament and her rare inability to climb trees. She is also different from other giant pandas because of her white fur, rather than the more common beige color, and her chubbiness, making her highly recognizable. Hua Hua has also become popular on international social media platforms and is adored by overseas viewers. 

As Hua Hua's twin brother, He Ye's cute appearance has also won the hearts of many netizens.

Meng Lan, nicknamed "the 3rd Prince of Xizhimen" as he is the third child of female panda Meng Meng and lives at the Beijing Zoo near Xizhimen in Beijing, has a broad set of skills like climbing, digging, doing sit-ups and feeding birds. Though admonished by the keepers after his "bold escape" from the zoo, Meng Lan remains a "harden criminal." A photo once captured him "stealing" keys from behind a keeper's back.

Although it was raining in Beijing in the morning, fans of Meng Lan already arrived at the front entrance of the Beijing Zoo at around 6 o'clock, and some netizens said that they waited for half an hour to finally see Meng Lan.

"Whether Meng Lan will always be a top star is not important. I wish he always be a happy big boy, and he is the cutest baby in my heart," another netizen said.

Global Times