TOKYO — Hundreds of visitors rushed to see a popular panda cub Xiang Xiang as Tokyo’s Ueno zoo reopened Tuesday for the first time since February when it closed due to the coronavirus.

An avid Xiang Xiang fan, Masumi Tsunoda, who used to visit the zoo every week to see the panda, showed up Tuesday with her handmade mask with panda prints for the occasion. “I was so happy to see Xiang Xiang got so much bigger,” she said.

Xiang Xiang is due to return to China later this year under panda exchange protocols.

Entry to the zoo is limited to 4,000 visitors per day who must book tickets in advance.

The zoo said the coronavirus shutdown was the longest closure in the facility’s history since it opened in 1882.