China's Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou pulled out all the stops for the six-month birthday party on Friday of its giant panda triplets, the only surviving trio in the world.

A panda keeper said the triplets show signs of health stability at six months old, which means they can have longer lives than triplets born in the wild.

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The cubs started to eat fresh bamboo leaves and their fur had turned the familiar black and white, like that of their mother Juxiao, zookeepers said. Pandas are born pink and furless.

Juxiao gave birth to the three within four hours of each other on July 29 last year, but the park only reported what they initially called a "miracle" birth for fear the triplets might not make it. The zoo at the time said panda offsprings have an "extremely high" mortality rate.

Three months ago, the triplets' mother wrapped her arms around them, much like humans do, in a touching reunion.

When the triplets - two boys and a girl - were shown on their two-month birthday at the park, their mother only managed to hold a baby at a time. Safari keepers stepped in to rotate the triplets.

The keepers raised the bear cubs while away from the mother panda. But that changed in November as Juxiao has been looking after two of the triplets at a time. Panda rearing experts said she was able to exercise full control as a parent.

Experts said single and twin births are common among the bears but triplets are rare.

They explained that in their natural habitat, a mother panda can rarely raise more than one cub and so multiple births usually lead to the deaths of two babies.

Tagspanda triplets, Chimelong Safari Park