During an official visit to Fuzhou, the capital city of China’s Fujian Province, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has publicly expressed his ambition to bring giant pandas to Hawaii, framing the potential cross-Pacific wildlife exchange as a powerful symbol of the deepening friendship between Honolulu and its Chinese sister city Fuzhou.
Blangiardi made the remarks Saturday during a tour of Fuzhou Panda World, the city’s premier panda exhibition and conservation facility. While walking through the venue’s exhibition hall, the mayor also asked detailed questions about the daily feeding protocols and long-term care regimens that keep the facility’s giant pandas healthy. A photo from the tour, taken by Qiu Yuwen for China Daily, documented the mayor’s visit to the popular attraction.
“If we were fortunate enough to get pandas to come to Hawaii, that would be incredible,” Blangiardi told reporters during his stop at the venue.
The push for pandas comes as part of ongoing people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two sister cities, which have built cooperative ties across tourism, culture, trade and municipal governance in recent years. Giant pandas have long served as iconic cultural ambassadors for China, with panda exchanges between nations historically helping to deepen public connection and diplomatic goodwill between partner countries. If the initiative moves forward, Hawaii would become one of the few regions outside of continental China to host the globally adored endangered species, drawing significant public and tourist interest to the islands.