“An An is an indispensable member of our family and has grown together with the park. He has also built a strong bond of friendship with locals and tourists alike,” Ocean Park Corporation chairman Paulo Pong said.

“An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed.”

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“Veterinarians from Ocean Park and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department made the difficult decision to perform the procedure of humane euthanasia on An An after consulting the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda,” Ocean Park explained.

The procedure was carried out at 8.40am on Thursday at the panda’s enclosure, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures.

A condolence booth at the enclosure, where staff had placed white flowers, was set up on Thursday.

Guest books were also laid out for visitors on a table covered with black cloth so visitors could leave tributes to An An.

The set-up included a backdrop with a photo of the panda having a meal, and the message “Thank you An An” and the years “1986-2022”.

Internet users can also post tributes on the park’s Facebook page.

A small board with flowers next to it was set up in a play area inside An An’s enclosure.

“I came here when I was younger and took a lot of photos with An An, I felt really sad when I learned he had died. No other pandas can replace An An,” said visitor Ana Ma, 10.

“An An is the soul of Ocean Park,” her 11-year-old friend Jaybe Lau added.

Another visitor, Jason Law Zit-sum, 17, also a fan of An An, said he visited Ocean Park to pay tribute after he heard the news on Thursday morning.

“An An was a playful panda. When I was younger, I came to visit him with my family. He was really cute,” he said, adding he had visited the park last week, even though the animal was already ill.

“An An, the giant panda, has accompanied Hong Kong citizens for 23 years, leaving many fond memories. We are very saddened by his passing,” a representative from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said.

The bureau thanked the park and the experts who helped take care of the animal over the years.

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Regular Ocean Park visitor Ina Chan, 40, said news of An An’s death hit particularly hard as she was at the venue when he died.

“When I saw the condolences sign, I felt very sad,” she said. “I always felt like he recognised me since I came frequently. He’d always stop to look at me.

“He was a unique panda … His ears would move while eating and he always had special poses for visitors.”

Chan thanked the park for its work in caring for the panda and that her final message for An An was “to be forever happy in heaven”.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also expressed his condolences over the panda’s death on social media.

“An An, you have brought so many good memories to everyone. You are still with us in our hearts, rest in peace,” he wrote.

Zhang Hemin, the former chief of Wolong Nature Reserve Administration, who played a role in the delivery of An An from Sichuan to the city in 1999, said Ocean Park had discussed the panda’s health with the organisation before he was put to sleep and that it was a reluctant decision, but there were no other options.

The animal, born in Sichuan province, arrived in Hong Kong along with a female giant panda named Jia Jia as a gift from Beijing to the city. Jia Jia died in 2016, aged 38.

There are two other giant pandas at the park, female Ying Ying and male Le Le, who were given to Hong Kong by the central government in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule.