Panda cub Xiang Xiang to make public debut at Tokyo zoo

Her mother Fairy (Japanese name Shin Shin) and father Billy (Japanese name Ri Ri) have been firm favorites at the zoo since their arrival on loan from China in February 2011, just a few days before the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster.

The birth of Xiang Xiang has been cheered all around Japan, and the name Xiang Xiang, meaning "fragrance" in Chinese language, was picked from some 320,000 suggestions made by the public.

The cuddly panda cub is scheduled to meet the public on Tuesday and will be on display for two-and-a-half hours per day until Jan. 31.

As over 247,000 people have applied to see Xiang Xiang, to prevent crowdedness and to protect the panda cub from being overwhelmed by the pressure, the zoo will limit the maximum number of visitors to 2,000 a day.

The 2,000 people, picked through a lottery, will visit in 400 groups with five people in each group, and each group will only have one to two minutes to watch the panda cub.