Qatar welcomes Middle East's first pandas in Al Khor ahead of World Cup

One of the two giant pandas gifter by China

Joyous mood prevailed with excited kids cheering and taking pics of Thuraya and Suhail at Panda House at Al Khor on Wednesday. The two pandas from China were received at the park where they will start a new life while opening a new chapter in the diplomatic cooperation between Qatar and China. The pandas came as a gift from China to Qatar while the country is hosting the World Cup 2022. Qatar is the first Middle East country with the panda present and the duo will be available for public viewing after once the 21 days quarantine is over. The giant pandas will be taken care of by an international team of doctors and specialists. While addressing the ceremony, the Director of the Public Parks Department at the Ministry of Municipality, Eng. Mohamed Ali al-Khori the park was built near Al Khor Park, Al Bayt Stadium and both municipalities of Al Khor and Al Thakhira in line with the highest international specifications and standards. With an area of 120,000 sq m, the Panda House has an area for panda viewing with a shelter in addition to the green areas and service buildings. A medical facility is attached to the giant panda park to meet the needs of the animals at all times. “The public will have the opportunity to visit the giant panda park at the time of the near launch of the World Cup 2022. The Panda House was designed while applying various specifications and configurations that provide pandas with original habitat at Minshan Mountains in the Chinese Province Sichuan. This is in order to preserve their special living nature,” he said. “Convenience in terms of the climatic conditions were considered while providing required areas for the panda in addition to paths for the visitors to view the pandas. There are bamboos on which the pandas feed are cultivated inside the park. Trees from Chinese forests were brought and cultivated inside the shelter,” he said. Acting Director of Building Projects Department in Ashghal Eng. Jarallah Mohamed al-Marri said that the works of the panda park were completed in coordination with the Ministry of Municipality. Ashghal achieved about 2 mn work hours. About 75% of the used materials were local such as iron and steel, electrical and mechanical tools, glass and other materials. “The Panda House was designed in line with the highest standards of quality and safety in accordance with the standards of the Global System of Assessing Sustainability (GSAS), since the designing and operational considerations were applied to achieve an environmental quality of 3 stars of energy preserving and Keeping the environment,” he said. Acting Director of Building Projects Department at the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) Eng. Jarallah Mohammed Al Marri said that the works of the panda park were completed in coordination with the Ministry of Municipality. Ashghal achieved about 2 million work hours. About 75% of the used materials were local such as iron and steel, electrical and mechanical tools, glass and other materials. He added that the park was designed in line with the highest standards of quality and safety in accordance with the standards of the Global System of Assessing Sustainability (GSAS), since the designing and operational considerations were applied to achieve an environmental quality of 3 stars of energy preserving and Keeping the environment The first one’s name is Ging Ging in Chinese language and it means shining crystal. The male panda was born on September 19 in 2018. It’s given the Arabic name Suhail which means the star in the sky. Si Hi, the second panda’s name means four seas in Chinese. The female panda was born on July 26 in 2019 and its Arabic name is Thuraya which means a group of shining stars. These two names have great significance in Qatari culture.