Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji enjoys his "fruitsicle" birthday cake at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., the United States, August 21, 2023. /CFP
Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji examines his third birthday present at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., the United States, August 21, 2023. /CFP
Visitors gather to watch giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji enjoying his "fruitsicle" birthday cake at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., the United States, Aug 21, 2023. /CFP
A visitor wears a T-shirt with Xiao Qi Ji's name printed on it while watching the giant panda examine his third birthday present at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, August 21, 2023. /CFP
Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji examines his third birthday present at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., the United States, August 21, 2023. /CFP
On August 21, a birthday party was held for giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji by the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in the United States. The zoo said on its website that this will be the last birthday that the cub spends in Washington D.C. as the beloved panda is set to leave the zoo by December with his parents, 25-year-old father Tian Tian and 25-year-old mother Mei Xiang. In the coming months, the zoo plans to hold a series of farewell celebrations for the panda family before it returns to China.