HONG KONG — For fans of the red panda, it would have been the ultimate experience — a wake-up call from one of the furry creatures on your hotel bed.
But that was until pictures and videos went viral on Chinese social media, prompting a crackdown by authorities in the country.
In one video verified by NBC News, Huang Wei, who booked the “wake-up call” service at the LocaJoy River & Holiday Hotel in China’s southwestern Chongqing city, was filmed partially under his blanket and can be heard telling the staff the panda playing on the bed was “really cute.”
The creature then eats food placed on the 28-year-old interior design store manager’s hand by a member of the staff. “He’s not scared of the cold,” the staff member says, adding that its thick fur meant it was not affected by the room’s air conditioning.
“I usually have a terrible morning temper, but today I’m so happy to be woken up by a red panda,” Wei wrote in a caption on the video that was posted last week on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote.
In a separate interview via a messaging app, Wei said the red panda stayed at his room for about five minutes, and hotel guests can interact with the animals during a one-hour morning session and 90-minute afternoon session downstairs in the hotel.
“It’s truly a joyful experience to get up close with rare and adorable animals,” he said.
But his original video drew criticism from some of his fellow social media users.
Red pandas are an endangered species in China, and even though Chongqing is known for both its large panda population and as a hot spot for panda tourism, China’s wildlife protection law states that “safety management measures” must be followed if any wild animals are used for performances.
Asked for comment, LocaJoy River & Holiday Hotel referred NBC News to Chongqing’s forestry bureau, which in turned called the practice “inappropriate” in a statement, which said it should be “immediately stopped.”
The company which owns the hotel, the Animal Theme Park of Chongqing Leheledu Travel Co. Ltd., did have a license to breed certain wildlife species, including red pandas, the statement said.
But, it said, licensed breeding activities must ensure “adequate space for animal activity, proper hygiene and health conditions, qualified personnel,” and hotel staff had violated these regulations.
The forestry bureau also confirmed the hotel had stopped offering red panda-themed rooms, and the four bears found on the premises had been transferred to a centralized breeding area.
As of Thursday, there was no listing for the rooms on the hotel’s website although it appeared most were nonetheless animal-themed.
Dental kits, toiletries, coffee mugs and linen appeared to have cartoonish animals printed on them, pictures posted by previous guests on the booking platform Trip.com showed.
