Pool stars pay pandas visit

World swimming champion Zhang Yufei waved and called her name, but true to the form, the nation's favorite giant panda, Hua Hua, seemed oblivious and was far more interested in chomping down her breakfast with her brother.

After sweeping nine gold medals at the World University Games, Zhang visited Chengdu's world-famous panda sanctuary along with teammates Li Bingjie and Liu Yaxin.

"I had a long to-do list before coming to Chengdu, but the tight competition schedule poured cold water on that. I didn't expect to see Hua Hua at all," Zhang said.

All three swimmers were already big fans of the rare species before their visit, arriving at the sanctuary with various panda merchandise.

Zhang said that Hua Hua is cuter, calmer and smaller than she had imagined. Li described Hua Hua as a "triangular onigiri (Japanese rice ball)", while Liu, who used an image of Hua Hua as her cellphone background, said the visit was like "seeing a superstar".

The trio listened attentively as staff informed them about the pandas' daily routines.

After seeing their food, including corn and soybeans, Zhang quipped that the pandas' breakfast was almost identical to theirs.

Besides Hua Hua and her siblings, Zhang also saw Sesame — the bear whom the Chengdu games' mascot, Rongbao, was modeled on. "Sesame eats much more voraciously than Hua Hua," Zhang observed.

Zhang's coach Cui Dengrong was also in attendance at the sanctuary. "In addition to competitions, I really hope athletes enjoy their downtime. It's important to strike a balance between intensity and relaxation in training," Cui said.

After her fun-filled day, Zhang conveyed a serious message on wildlife preservation: "The giant panda is a national treasure and a protected animal in China. However, I want to urge everyone to love and protect all precious wildlife, not just pandas."

Xinhua