ASIA WATCH: With no pandas at home, Japanese fans visit Xiang Xiang in China

With Japan now without pandas for the first time in nearly half a century, devoted fans are heading to southwestern China for a glimpse of Xiang Xiang, the former darling of Tokyo's Ueno Zoo.At the Bifengxia Base of the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Ya'an, Sichuan Province, Japanese visitors can be found almost every day watching the nine-year-old female eat, play and wander around her enclosure."I think she's having apples today. They're her favorite," one of about 10 Japanese visitors said during a visit in late April, as the group excitedly discussed what the panda might …READ FULL ARTICLE