"Panda plays the role of a matchmaker for me"

"Cubs, it's time for dinner."

Lang Shunyun, a keeper at the Shenshuping base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, gently calls the pandas, bringing chopped carrots, steamed buns and other food to their enclosure.

Surrounded by lucid waters and lush mountains, the Shenshuping base is in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, which is assisted by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It is a paradise for giant pandas as well as the second hometown for Lang, a Hong Kong woman, as well.

Lang, a woman from Hong Kong, who has had a fondness for giant pandas since her childhood. When growing up, her dream came true. She initially served as a panda keeper at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong, taking up the duty of taking care of the giant pandas sent by the central government to the HKSAR as gifts.

Since Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, the central government has successively sent two pairs of giant pandas to Hong Kong as gifts. The first pair of pandas is named asAn'an and Jiajia,which not only bringsjoy to Hong Kong residents and tourists, but also bringsSichuan and Hong Kong closer together. In 2007, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the central government sent another two giant pandas named Lele and Yingying to Hong Kong. The four giant pandas received by Hong Kong are all from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan.

On May 12, 2008, an unexpectedearthquake hit the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda hard, severely destroying the Hetaoping base in Wolong. Hong Kong, which had maintained a deep friendship with Sichuan because of the giant pandas,decided to help reconstruct the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and relevant facilities. In May 2016, Wolong's reconstruction assisted by Hong Kong was completed.

Giantpandasnot merely link Sichuan and Hong Kong together. In 2015, Lang met her Mr. Right, Dong Chao, at the Shenshuping base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. These two young men came together because of giant pandas as well. In 2018, Lang got married in Wolong, Sichuan, and became a Sichuan daughter-in-law. The couple now have a 4-year-old son and a happy family of three.

"The national treasure plays the role of a matchmaker for me.", Lang said, "The central government's gift of giant pandas to Hong Kong has not only enabled the mainland and Hong Kong to have more emotional connections, but also benefited me a lot."With the giant panda as the medium, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has more and more cooperation and exchanges with Hong Kong, frequently sharing relevant work experience and latest news. Therefore, the friendship between Sichuan and Hong Kong has become deeper and deeper.