Breaking News: 1,600 Paper Pandas Arrive in Taiwan, Popping Up at Major Taipei Attractions

▲Paper pandas made their morning appearance at Dajia Riverside Park.

Reported and photographed by You t
ru / Taipei

Following the Yellow Rubber Duck, the paper panda exhibition is coming to Taipei soon. The large-scale outdoor public art exhibit “1,600 Pandas World Tour—Taipei,” jointly organized by Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism and Left Brain Creative, will open on February 28 in Taipei. Ahead of the opening, the organizers brought 1,600 pandas to various iconic spots in Taipei for a “flash mob” appearance. This morning (the 20th) at 6 AM, the paper pandas braved the cold and made their first brief appearance at Dajia Riverside Park.

The stories behind the paper pandas and the Yellow Rubber Duck →Behind the yellow duck and 1,600 panda exhibits... there's a team that works this way...


▲% Jia jiao ◎ Yun liao bao kuai di yu zhao bei ma dian an,? Xian jia die zhu zhe men yin ru ying xiong, huang lan zhou wei cun zai a.


To build anticipation for the paper panda exhibition opening on February 28, starting today through next Monday, the panda army will be making flash appearances at major Taipei attractions. This morning at 4:30 AM, the organizers first brought the pandas to their first stop, “Dajia Riverside Park.” They will continue to pop up at other locations including Ketagalan Boulevard, Taipei Expo Park’s New Exhibition Area, Dunhua South Road Tree-lined Promenade, Xinyi Civic Center, and the National Theater.

The Taipei Department of Information and Tourism stated that to raise awareness about endangered species, the flash mob will not only feature the panda army but also ten endangered animals, including the Formosan black bear, polar bear, black rhinoceros, Asian elephant, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Formosan clouded leopard, green sea turtle, fairy pitta, Formosan tree frog, and Formosan leopard cat. Photos from the event will be shared on the official fan page and website of the panda exhibition, where the public can spot these animals in the images.


▲% Jia jiao ◎ Zhi ye 0 zhong bin lin jue zhong sheng wu. Shang tu wei shi hu; Xia tu wei bei ji xiong.


The organizers also specially invited local artist Bo Fenping to create paper sculptures of the ten endangered animals, echoing the unique handcrafted texture of Paulo’s paper pandas. Bo Fenping said that for this sculpture project featuring ten wild endangered species, she carefully studied and understood the creative techniques of French artist Paulo. She even tried recreating the paper sculpting of the pandas herself to experience the artist’s creative spirit, hoping to raise greater public awareness about wildlife conservation.