Singapore, Dec 13 (EFE).- About a thousand people came Wednesday to the park where Le Le, the first giant panda cub born in Singapore, was spending her last day on the island before beginning the process of returning to China, under Beijing's so-called "panda diplomacy" lending policies.

"We have watched our giant panda grow into a confident, inquisitive and independent bear. He is adored by all of us who have had the privilege of caring for him," said Cheng Wen-Haur, deputy director of operations at Mandai Wildlife, manager of the park where Le Le lives, according to a statement.

Le Le spent his last day at River Wonders, where he was visited by about 1,000 people before a mandatory quarantine period began prior to his departure to China on Jan. 16.

Among those attending the farewell ceremony was the cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, Qin Wen, who praised the "joy" that the animal has brought to the Asian city-state.

Le Le's trip to China was announced at the end of September by Mandai Wildlife, which has been looking after the panda's well-being since its birth in Singapore two years ago.

The return of Le Le, born to the pandas from China Kai Kai and Jia Jia on Aug. 14, 2021 in Singapore, responds to the terms of the Chinese panda loan policy, by which their offspring born in foreign territory are usually returned to China when they are two years old.

Le Le's parents will remain in Singapore's River Wonders park, as an agreement signed in 2022 extended their stay on the island for five more years.

His calf will travel on Jan. 16 on a cargo plane specially chartered for him by Singapore Airlines, on a 4.5-hour flight to Chengdu (Sichuan, China), in which he will be accompanied by caregivers from Mandai and your new Chinese home, as well as up to 50 kilograms of a succulent menu of bamboo, fruit and water.

China has used pandas throughout its history as a sign of peace, harmony and goodwill.

The country's founder Mao Zedong gave pandas to the Soviet Union in the '50s. It also gave two pandas to the United States in 1972 during the Cold War after a visit by President Richard Nixon, calling it "panda diplomacy," and expanded as a business in the '80s and '90s by Deng Xiaoping.

The practice has been decreasing due to the growth of the Chinese economy and the greater belief that they are "a national treasure" to protect, among other reasons. EFE

© 2023 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc., source EFE Ingles