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For 'pambassadors', it's a dream come true

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As dream jobs go, few would top that of spending a month with one of the cutest animals on Earth and then sharing the experience with others around the globe.

And for the six lucky panda ambassadors - or "pambassadors" - who officially started work on Oct 8, it has just become a reality.

"Pambassadors" hug pandas in Chengdu after winning the Project Panda competition in this file photo taken on Sept 28. [China Daily]

Hopefuls quit jobs, postponed weddings and traveled thousands of kilometers to take part in the Project Panda competition, jointly launched by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) China on Aug 16.

The pambassadors will get up close and personal with the pandas at the base in Sichuan's provincial capital, detailing their experiences in a blog. Later, they will return home to act as global spokesmen and women for the endangered species.

"We hope the publicity of the campaign can promote global awareness of animals and environmental protection," said Wang Jishan, head of scientific management at the Chengdu panda base.

Judges last month whittled more than 60,000 entrants from 52 countries and regions down to just six - Huang Xi from the Chinese mainland, Wang Yu-wen from Taiwan, Yumiko Kajiwara of Japan, Ashley Robertson of the United States, David Algranti of France and Ali Shakorian of Sweden.

China Daily caught up with some of the winners to find out what motivated them to take on the challenge of being a pambassador.

Ali Shakorian has a dream: To bring the first giant panda to his home country of Sweden.

The 26-year-old post-graduate student grew up in Malmo, a large cosmopolitan city in the south, but did not see his first panda until he visited Berlin Zoo 10 years ago.

He said it was "love at first sight" when he saw Bao Bao, the only panda in a German zoo. "Whenever pandas came onto the television, I wouldn't let anyone touch the remote control," said Shakorian, recalling his childhood. "I just stared at the screen and couldn't stop smiling."

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