CHENGDU, July 4 (Xinhua) -- In the early hours of Friday morning, fans could be found camping out for their chance to glimpse a celebrity: a 200-pound, onigiri-shaped panda who moves like a "sticky rice dumpling" and specializes in chowing down on bamboo.

Before dawn, the gates of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding pulsed with an energy unusual even for this hugely popular panda attraction in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Some eager visitors had queued since 10 p.m. the night before, clutching stuffed toys and handmade signs, jostling for the best vantage points.

Their purpose was to mark the 5th birthday -- a significant milestone in the panda world -- of China's top-streamed panda idol and national darling He Hua, who has been nicknamed Hua Hua, and her younger twin sister, He Ye.

As they do for any panda birthday at the facility, keepers prepared a special ice fruit cake for the twins, decorated with the number "5" and topped with tender bamboo shoots. They also festooned the panda enclosure with lotus flowers and leaves.

Hua Hua is no ordinary panda. Unlike her more agile peers, she moves very slowly, often struggling to climb. But her "non-confrontational yet persevering" nature has resonated deeply with many and has made her a social media titan, with videos of the lovable bear amassing 1 billion views to date on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

The double birthday on Friday became a national event, with fans organizing celebrations of their own. In Chengdu's downtown Chunxi Road commercial district, large screens played looped birthday videos of Hua Hua, and in-person fan events took place in cities across the country.

Guangdong Sibao Stainless Steel Products Co., Ltd. -- the panda twins' official corporate adopter since before they achieved fame -- exemplifies the deep bond between people and the two pandas.

"We didn't adopt them because they became popular," said Lu Jie, who heads Sibao's e-commerce business. "Fans trust us because we were there from the very beginning." The company began adopting giant pandas in 1999, and took in Hua Hua and He Ye shortly after they were born.

Sibao now oversees 18 Douyin fan groups and four WeChat communities totaling about 10,000 members who are not just consumers, but highly engaged followers who track panda news, create fan art, organize events, and support products from the sponsor company.

Hua Hua has been sharing the spotlight. Her 10-year-old half-brother Meng Lan, who also celebrated a birthday on Friday, is beloved for his wall-climbing antics. An escape attempt once led the Beijing Zoo to reinforce his enclosure with transparent acrylic panels.

And Fu Bao, the first giant panda to be born in the Republic of Korea (ROK), returned to China last April and now commands a large fan base in both the ROK and China, with her homecoming sparking a wave of emotion across international social media platforms. Giant pandas born outside of China are part of an international cooperation program on panda research and protection, and should be returned to China before they are four years old.

The cultural presence of pandas in Chengdu is unmistakable. A giant sculpture clings to a shopping mall rooftop, murals brighten alleyways, restaurants serve panda-shaped desserts and supermarkets stock panda-inspired buns. As one of China's most influential areas of intellectual property (IP), the panda is also transforming from a cultural symbol into a tangible economic force. In 2024, Chengdu's cultural and creative industries surpassed 280 billion yuan (39.2 billion U.S. dollars) in total value, driven in no small part by the enduring appeal of the city's native panda population.

If Disney has Mickey Mouse, Universal has the Minions and Japan has Kumamon, then China has Hua Hua -- a real giant panda-turned cultural, commercial and emotional icon.

Zhang Zheng, vice dean of Tsinghua University's Institute of Culture Creativity, noted that Hua Hua's calm, gentle presence speaks to a shared desire for companionship, slow living and emotional comfort. She has become a soft symbol of China's emerging "emotional economy."

This demand has given rise to ventures like SeeU Panda -- a simulated stuffed toy brand founded by panda superfan Liu Tao. "Pandas are an invisible, intangible source of emotional comfort," Liu said. "Many people can only see Hua Hua through short videos, and we hope to bring her closer by creating lifelike replicas."

Today, SeeU Panda operates three factories with over 200 workers, including a core team of seven artisans. The company has sold more than 50,000 lifelike panda toys in over 50 countries and regions. For this panda birthday season, they are crafting woolly replicas using grade-A sheepskin for realistic texture and a silicone gel filling to add weight, aiming to produce adult-sized versions of Hua Hua and Meng Lan.

Yang Yinyu, CTO of SeeU Panda and a craftsman with 24 years of experience in traditional handcrafts, said that pandas have been his most challenging project. "We kept refining the expressions. Every panda's eyes and mouth lines are different, which dictates their first impression on us," he said. "Hua Hua looks shy, and Qi Zai is more playful," he added, referring to the world's only captive brown giant panda.

Even hairstylists have found their niche in the panda world. Zhang Jie, 30, was among those who answered an ad for a job at SeeU Panda requiring five years of hairdressing experience. "It's like grooming a pet, but more complex," he said. Each wool panda takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete, from shearing and fluffing to final detailing. A single worker can complete five to six replicas per day.

SeeU Panda also creates custom designs for official use -- from pandas in German attire for the German consulate in Chengdu to a recreation of Hua Hua wearing a five-ring scarf for the Paris Olympics. Leftover materials are repurposed into DIY gadgets and "panda poop paper" to support the company's sustainability goals.

Other players are thriving too. Panda Post, a cultural and creative arm of China Post, runs six Chengdu branches with a mostly young customer base, while Wolong Panda, a subsidiary of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda, handles IP licensing and has led multiple panda-themed tourism projects in Sichuan.

The field of panda IP has evolved beyond the species being a mere symbol of cuteness. It has now become a tangible, gentle cultural icon through toys, apparel, short videos and in-person events. Tsinghua's Zhang Zheng frames this panda fandom as a form of "cultural comfort" which creates a "light community" built around Hua Hua that offers companionship, healing and kind connections amid the frenzy of modern life.

And really, who could ever resist the appeal of these bumbling, confrontation-avoidant, people-loving national treasures? ■