World's oldest captive giant panda celebrates Spring Festival

CHONGQING - The world's oldest captive giant panda Xinxing and her four "great-grandchildren" celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival at a zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality Tuesday.

The 37-year-old celebrity "granny panda," her age equivalent to more than 100 human years, was treated with carrots, apples, bamboo shoots and leaves in the panda house decorated with lanterns and streamers.

The food was carried to the dining area by the four panda cubs in baskets on their back as gifts for their "great-grandmother" to mark the occasion of their first meeting.

The celebrity panda is in good physical condition, except occasional high blood pressure, according to Zhang Naicheng, head of the panda house. She weighs 97 kg and eats 30 kg of bamboo shoots and 1 kg of bamboo leaves each day.

Xinxing, born in Sichuan province in 1982, is the world's oldest captive giant panda. She is the matriarch of a huge family of 137 pandas. Her offspring are spread across the globe in more than 20 countries and regions including the United States, Canada and Japan.

Xinxing was brought to the Chongqing Zoo at the age of one. She visited Calgary, Canada during the 1988 Winter Olympics where she attracted over 1 million visitors.