Fu Wa, a 17-year-old panda at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province, gave birth to twin male pandas on Tuesday, the first weighing 159.8 grams and the second 119.5 grams.

"It is rare for pandas to give birth in the spring," base keeper and researcher Wu Kongju said.

Written documents available in her base show that Fu Wa's babies are the earliest born in a year. Female pandas typically become ruttish in the spring and beget cubs in the summer.

Fu Wa, who is either 51 or 68 in human terms, has had five litters of eight cubs, Wu said.

Panda experts are divided on judging the age of a panda. Some say one year is equivalent to three years in human terms, while others say it is four years.

Fu Wa's babies, which are believed to be the first captive panda twins of 2020, were born at 12:57 pm and 3:10 pm on Tuesday.

Fu Wa and her babies are healthy, according to Wu. Both cubs are suckling normally and have strong voices.

The base said it hopes that the birth of the twins helps lift the spirits of the people fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic worldwide.

As it is the time of year when pandas are ruttish and mate, the base has not relaxed its work on panda research and breeding despite the epidemic. Thanks to their joint efforts, several pandas have mated, said base chief Zhang Zhihe.

While putting more emphasis on monitoring the health of base staff, the base has been more meticulous in the disinfection of pandas' dens and their playgrounds as well as offices and public areas frequented by people, Zhang said.

No suspected or confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia have been reported in the base, he said.

His base, home to 206 captive pandas, was established on Futou Hill in the northern suburbs of Chengdu with six hungry and sick pandas rescued from the wild in 1987.