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Hong Kong's baby pandas finally get names. Meet Jia Jia and De De.

Published: 27 May. 2025, 19:54

Giant panda Ying Ying, right, and her daughter Jia Jia are seen at their enclosure in Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Hong Kong's first locally born giant pandas have finally been named and introduced as Jia Jia and De De.

The names of the cubs, affectionately known as “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother,” were announced Tuesday in a ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park housing them, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year.

The names were the winning suggestions from residents in a naming contest that drew more than 35,700 entries.

The Chinese character jia, from the female cub's name, Jia Jia, carries a message of support and features an element of family and a sense of auspicious grace. The name embodies the prosperity of families and the nation and the happiness of the people, the park said.

The Chinese character de, from the male cub's name, means to succeed, carrying the connotation that Hong Kong is successful in everything. De also has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character for virtue, the park said, suggesting giant pandas possess virtues cherished by Chinese people.

Giant panda cub De De climbs up to the tree at the enclosure in Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Giant panda Ying Ying, left, and her daughter Jia Jia are seen at their enclosure in Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Ocean Park Chairman Paulo Pong said they followed tradition by using Mandarin pronunciation for the pandas’ English names. He said Jia Jia sounds like a word in the Cantonese term for elder sister, while De De sounds a bit like the Cantonese phrase for little brother. Cantonese is the mother language of many Hong Kongers.

“It's a very positive pair of names,” he said. “We have to be a bit creative here with the names.”

The twins' birth in August made their mother, Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time panda mom. Their popularity among residents and visitors and on social media raised hopes for a tourism boost in the city, where politicians touted the commercial opportunities as the “panda economy.”

Observers are watching whether housing six pandas helps the park revive its business, especially when caring for the animals in captivity is expensive. Ocean Park recorded a deficit of 71.6 million Hong Kong dollars ($9.2 million) in the last financial year.

Decoration featuring the Hong Kong-born giant panda twin cubs Jia Jia and De De is seen on the fruits in Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Giant panda Ying Ying, left, and her daughter Jia Jia are seen at their enclosure in Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

The park recorded nearly 40 percent growth in visitor flow and a 40 percent increase in overall income during a five-day holiday beginning May 1 in mainland China, said Pong, who hopes the growth momentum will continue through summer, Halloween and Christmas seasons.

Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country’s giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy.

AP