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Mainland panda pair arrive in Taiwan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-23 17:34

TAIPEI -- Two giant pandas from the mainland touched down at the Taoyuan Airport here at 5:02 p.m. on Tuesday.

The 4-year-old bears, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, have already finished quarantine examinations at the airport.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, the two giant pandas from Chinese mainland, are seen in the quarantine area at Taipei zoo in Muzha December 23, 2008. The Panda bears from Southwestern Sichuan Province are a goodwill gift from Beijing. [Xinhua]

The big cage they stayed in was unloaded from the plane and put on a zoo truck, which was waiting for them at the airport.

They will be escorted by the police to their new home at the Taipei zoo, according to the Taiwan-based Eastern Broadcasting Co. (EBC).

They will be isolated for a month for further quarantine before meeting the Taiwan public.

The pair left a breeding base in Ya'an in southwestern Sichuan Province at about 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday in an enclosed truck.

They were transported to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu, about 120 km from Ya'an, and from there left for the island by air.

Since the rare animals were probably tired from the journey, the zoo wouldn't hold any welcoming ceremony on Tuesday night, zoo spokesman Jason S.C. Chin said.

The panda pair have become "sweethearts" on the island. Their cartoon images were displayed at bus stations and the airport entrance.

The island's largest bookstore chain, Elite Books, put DVDs about the bears on a highlighted counter. Most department stores on the island sold stuffed panda toys and stationery bearing their images.

"I am sure the panda house will be the most popular exhibit in the zoo when Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan finish their quarantine," said a woman surnamed Lin at the zoo's media reception department.

The Taipei city government said in a statement that the pair is expected to attract about 6 million visitors to the zoo annually, double the current number.

"Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan will be a valuable New Year gift for Taiwan. Parents have an interesting story to tell their kids and kids will have a joyful thing to do next year," said the United Daily News in an editorial on Tuesday. "Their arrival here has a greater significance, that is, peace they stand for."

The zoo administration is not at present planning to change the bears' names, which together mean "reunion" in Chinese, Chin said.