A six-month-old baby giant panda Xiao Liwu made his first public appearance at the San Diego Zoo on Thursday, attracting locals and tourists alike.

Large numbers of visitors came to see his first official viewing.

Visitors only had a three-minute time slot to see the baby and his mum up close.

Xiao Liwu was born on July 29, 2012 and has been living with his mother at the zoo.

Xi Liwu's mother Bai Yun was one of the first animal ambassadors, leased to the San Diego Zoo in 1996.

Sources say that China has more than 1,590 giant pandas in the wild and over 310 in captivity.