Ocean Park hosted jubilant fans on Friday to mark the first birthday of Hong Kong's very own giant panda twins, Jia Jia and De De.

Born to resident pandas Ying Ying and Le Le, the city's first panda cubs born locally are thriving, according to the park, with elder sister Jia Jia and younger brother De De now weighing approximately 30 kilogrammes.

Park caregivers are gradually introducing them to solid food, including chopped bamboo shoots and carrots.

More than 300 people joined the festivities, including more than 10 children who were all born on August 15, 2024.

"The most exciting part is definitely seeing the pandas themselves because we haven't seen it before," said Ash Chan, who brought along his birthday boy son.

Avid panda enthusiast Joanna Ng, an annual pass holder and member of the cubs' fan club, has followed their journey closely both in person and online.

"The cubs are particularly cute. I love all pandas but cubs are really cute," she said. "[I'm really excited] to celebrate their birthday and to see Jia Jia and De De in real time and hopefully they are playful."

Paulo Pong, chairman of the board at Ocean Park Corporation, said the cubs' public debut has increased revenue.

"After we opened the exhibit to the public, the first seven months have been very successful for the park in terms of income as well as attendance," he said.

"We've seen [an increase of] over 20 percent of attendance as well as a very high percentage of generation of income.

"Thanks to all the new merchandises that we have, thanks to all the different SKUs [stock keeping units] that we have, we managed to also increase the sales of the merchandise multiple times."

Pong said the park has been meticulously documenting the cubs' growth and that the footage will be compiled into a film to be shared with the public next year.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said in her opening speech that the birth of the twins not only highlights the close cooperation between Hong Kong and the nation in research, conservation and education but also enhances public understanding of national conservation efforts.

She noted that a series of promotional activities had already begun in July to celebrate the twin's birthday.

"You may have noticed the panda-themed street signs, decorations in various MTR stations and photo spots at the Peak Road Garden, all of which have been unveiled," she said.

"The panda-themed Star Ferry has also officially set sail in Victoria Harbour. Additionally, Ocean Park launched the Labubu x Panda Twins lucky draw, which has been well received by citizens and tourists."