Giant panda Yuanzai celebrates its fifth birthday at the Taipei Zoo, July 6, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] TAIPEI - Two birthday cakes. Five posters. Countless fans. A superstar shows up and the fans start screaming. It's not a celebrity's meet-and-greet session at a concert, but rather the birthday bash of a giant panda in Taiwan. On Friday, giant panda Yuanzai celebrated its fifth birthday at the Taipei Zoo, drawing large crowds eager to catch a glimpse of the chubby bear. Yuanzai is the baby of two giant pandas, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, sent to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland in 2008. [Photo/Xinhua] The animal showed up at the zoo's Giant Panda House around 9:20 am, and fans immediately used their phones to record every move of the cute animal. It played around, and at one point, climbed up a platform and started to play with the posters on the ceiling, generating quite a buzz among the visitors. It is so cute! said a visitor surnamed Chung. I came here early to see Yuanzai. Giant panda Yuanzai celebrates its fifth birthday at the Taipei Zoo, July 6, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] Yuanzai is the baby of two giant pandas, Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, sent to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland in 2008. The female, Yuanyuan, gave birth to Yuanzai in 2013. I have been following the pandas' news since they arrived in Taiwan, Chung said. We even formed a fanclub on Facebook, which updates everything about the pandas. Another visitor surnamed Li brought his daughter to the zoo to see Yuanzai. We heard in newspapers and on TV about Yuanzai's birthday, Li said. My daughter adores pandas. Wang Yi-min, with Taipei Zoo, said they frequently invited experts from the mainland to help with the protection and insemination of the pandas. It is an honor to be part of the protection efforts of giant pandas, she said. We hope to have more cooperation with experts from the mainland to help protect the animals. design your own wristband24 hour wristbands
CHINA DAILY Lan Honglin, head of the Lan Family Association in Zhangpu, Fujian Compiling genealogies and building ancestral temples are Chinese traditions. They connect people who have the same family roots and promote their sense of belonging. Genealogies, or family trees, are the best resources for discovering family histories, because they can answer the philosophical question of where we come from. To some extent, genealogies are like identity cards for families. They contain excellent information, including the names and deeds of each generation. One significant practical function of genealogies is to help those who have moved away from their hometowns to trace their roots. Every family establishes a temple where their ancestors are enshrined and worshipped. Traditionally, when a family member dies, a tablet that embodies his or her spirit is made and placed in the temple Most people in Zhangpu village, Nantou, Taiwan, have the Lan surname. Their ancestors were soldiers from Zhangpu, a county in Zhangzhou, Fujian province. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), three generals - all members of the Lan family in Zhangpu - were sent by emperors successively to suppress rebellions on Taiwan. Most of the soldiers who accompanied the generals were also members of the Lan family. When the fighting ended, many stayed on the island because the land was fertile but the population was small. About 56,000 people on Taiwan are descendants of the original Lan family. They are proud of their family histories and help each other. In the 1980s, they started returning to Zhangpu and the ancestral temple. They bring their genealogies and ancestral tablets so they understand which generation they are. No matter what job they do, whether they are rich or poor, successful or not, when they visit the temple they all kneel and pray before their ancestors and they recite the family maxims that have been passed down for centuries. Lan Honglin spoke with Zhang Yi.
