TOKYO -- Thousands of Japanese fans bid tearful farewell to their beloved panda couple that made their final public appearance at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on Saturday before returning to China for medical treatment. The pair, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, are the parents of Xiang Xiang, the park-born idol that had returned home last year.

A truck carrying giant pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin leaves Ueno Zoo for Narita International Airport in Tokyo Japan

A pair of giant pandas that have been in Japan for 13 years on loan left a Tokyo zoo on Sunday to return to China for treatment, as t

They gave birth to the celebrity giant panda Xiang Xiang in 2017, which was returned to China last year, as well as twin cubs Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei in 2021. All three pandas, born and raised at the zoo, attracted crowds of panda lovers from both home and abroad.

There were emotional scenes at Tokyo’s Ueno zoo, where visitors flocked for the last public viewing of giant pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin on Saturday, before they are sent back to China.

Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.

Thousands of Japanese fans bid tearful farewell to their beloved panda couple that made their final public appearance at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Saturday before returning to China for medical treatment.

Just like pandas, I hope Japan and China can be friends,' said a visitor, who came to admire Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno zoo Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo on Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.