WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A birthday `` cake '' made of ice , beets , apples and pears ? It might not sound appetizing , but it was a special treat Thursday for Tai Shan , the Smithsonian National Zoo 's giant panda . Giant panda Tai Shan digs into his special birthday cake of ice , beets , apples and pears . A huge group of fans watched as the popular panda celebrated his fourth birthday with the three-tier cake . They cheered him on as he inched closer to the treat , and one woman yelled `` Atta boy Tai Shan ! '' when he finally started eating the apple pieces on the cake 's lowest tier . She cheered the panda on for eating his `` cake '' the same way a mom might cheer on her son at a soccer game or dad might cheer his daughter playing basketball . Zoo curator Lisa Stevens said people react that way because of how pandas resemble children . `` They share many features of infants and toddlers . They have high foreheads , big eye spots , and they can sit up straight and grip and eat their food , '' Stevens said . Pandas are also known to give hope to the downtrodden , according to one loyal Tai Shan fan who called herself `` Sandy . '' During her battle against a medical condition that caused her to be unable to walk , she said that frequent visits to the zoo to see Tai Shan gave her the strength she needed to persevere through the pain . `` I could barely stand an hour to see him , now I could stand all day to watch him . I pushed myself for him ... he 's done so much for me and for people all over the world , '' she said . Tai Shan was born at the zoo and has had his entire life documented on a Web cam for the whole world to see . Fans may have little time left to enjoy Tai Shan , as the zoo 's contract with the China Wildlife Conservation Association to keep him is set to expire later this year . The zoo is negotiating with the conservation association to keep Tai Shan a few months longer .
China was born at Zoo . Birthday boy gets a special cake made of ice , beets , apples and pears . the Smithsonian National Zoo curator says pandas are popular because they resemble young children . Though born in Tai Shan , Tai Shan due to be sent to China Thursday .