S/ NTV Reporter/ The entry of visitors who won lottery tickets to the final panda viewing day has started.

Fans visited Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo to see panda pair Ri Ri and Shin Shin on September 28, the final viewing day before their return to China.

The male Ri Ri and female Shin Shin were sent back to a giant panda conservation center in Sichuan Province on September 29.

They were sent back earlier than the loan end date due to their old age of 19 years old and health conditions, such as high blood pressure.

S/ Fan/ This is Shin Shin and Xiang Xiang. Shin Shin was full of smiles. I loved her sun-like smile.

S/ Fan/ I’m still in denial because I thought they would always be here. I only have appreciation for them.

According to Ueno Zoo, around 2,200 visitors came to view the pandas on the last viewing day.

200 lottery winners out of the roughly 12,000 entries bid the panda pair farewell in the final 30 minutes.

S/ Tomita Yasumasa, Vice Director, Ueno Zoological Gardens/ I felt that many people have a lot of emotions towards Ri Ri and Shin Shin. They taught me that pandas are creatures that have a lot of power.

The panda couple safely arrived in China on a charter cargo plane on September 29.