Bao Bao, a panda at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in the U.S. celebrated her first birthday on Aug. 23.

The little lady had a party panda-style. She received a frozen cake made of water, fruit and vegetables as her birthday present, which she shared with her mother, Mei Xiang. Guests at the zoo also had fun making birthday cards for the panda and were served Dandan noodles, a traditional cold dish eaten when celebrating a child’s first birthday in China.

The zoo tried to incorporate things significant from Chinese culture for Bao Bao’s special day.

“She‘s great. She’s on-track developmentally,” Dr. Brandie Smith, senior curator for mammals at the National Zoo. She added that Bao Bao is very independent. “She definitely has a mind of her own, and she’ll do her own thing.”

By Um Yoon-sun (uys@heraldcorp.com)