Belgian zoo owner hopes to promote friendship with China
About 60 kilometers south of Brussels, a privately owned wildlife park is home to five giant pandas that are the star attractions.
Eric Domb, founder and president of Pairi Daiza in Brugelette, Belgium, said the five pandas live in its Chinese garden and have thousands of fans.
“When we had to cancel the birthday celebrations for the giant pandas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many visitors felt deeply saddened,” Domb said.
He mentioned a “crazy” visitor who called himself Papi Panda, meaning grandpa panda in French. Papi Panda even moved house to be closer to the giant pandas, whom he comes to see every day.
In 2014, China and Belgium embarked on a joint panda conservation cooperation and research when Hao Hao and Xing Hui arrived at Pairi Daiza as part of a 15-year loan agreement.
Two years later, the first giant panda cub, Tian Bao, was born in Belgium. In 2019, twin pandas — male Bao Di and female Bao Mei — were born.
“I loved China long before we got the pandas,” said Domb, who has a profound affection for China for more than 50 years. When he was a child, his parents explained to him that the soul of Chinese culture is pursuing a harmonious life.
Domb said he believes that giant pandas are a good way for people to begin learning about Chinese culture. “They first attract people and then invite them to step into the Chinese garden to know more about Chinese culture,” he said.
With waterfalls, rocks, plants and a tea pavilion, the Chinese garden was built in 2005 and is said to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
When visiting the garden in 2014 for the inauguration of the panda enclosure, President Xi Jinping planted a magnolia tree with the Belgian monarch, King Philippe, to symbolize the friendship between Beijing and Brussels.
In June, Domb came up with the idea of sending a letter to the Chinese president with a photo of the beautiful tree in full bloom.
“I was totally amazed that just eight or nine days later, I received a reply from President Xi, emphasizing the efforts China has made so far toward wildlife conservation and encouraging me to reinforce the friendship between the Chinese people and the Belgians and the European people,” Domb said.
Compromise and harmony
There are two opposite strategies in wildlife conservation, he said.
“One of these strategies is mainly the American strategy. That is to create a kind of wall between wildlife and humans. And the Chinese strategy, which is also shared in Europe by some countries like France and Belgium, is to find the best compromise,” Domb said.
China is now showing the world how humans and wildlife can live in harmony together, he said, as the country has a population of more than 1.4 billion but is also home to a great variety of wildlife.
Earlier this month, Domb was presented the Chinese Government Friendship Award for his contributions to China’s exchanges and cooperation with other countries.
He said it is his personal wish and also a pleasure to help people discover the real China.
“When you love people and you observe that these people are not really known by your relatives, you really have the push to say: ‘No, open your eyes. They are really wonderful people’,” he said.
Domb said he wants to go much further by expanding the Chinese garden into an authentic ancient Chinese village where people can stay for a few nights.
“I think that if you want to give a good illustration of the philosophy of Confucius, you need to have a garden, which is the symbol of nature,” he said.
“And you also need to have a city, a place where people live together. And this could be the village. So I think it’s very interesting to show that cities can live in harmony with the natural environment.
“The core message of Confucius is to live in harmony and I think that is the future.”