A pair of adorable panda twins born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 17, 2020. /VCG
The world's first pair of captive-bred panda twins born this year were named on Friday, inspired by two local delicacies in China, according to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
The elder brother was named "Reganmian," the most popular noodle dish in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and the younger brother was named "Danhonggao," a traditional baked egg pancake from the giant panda's major habitat Sichuan Province.
The names of the two cubs were announced in a video at their 1-month birthday celebration on Friday by the base and the Sichuan medical assistance team previously dispatched to Hubei Province to help fight the COVID-19 epidemic. Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital, is the then epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China.
"'Reganmian' is not only a delicacy but also a reminder of the unforgettable past months. We named a panda after the noodle snack as a tribute to Wuhan and the Wuhan people," said Zhang Kun, a member of the medical team.
The panda cubs were born on March 17. They are both in good health, with the elder brother weighing more than 1 kilogram and his younger sibling weighing over 800 grams.
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