Pandas from Sichuan province arrive at their new home in a Shandong zoo, on Wednesday. [Photo by Lin Qingxian]

A pair of giant pandas from southwestern China's Sichuan province arrived at their new home at the Jinan Zoo, in Jinan, Shandong province, on Wednesday.

The two pandas, both two years of age, have been borrowed from the Wolong Nature Reserve for a long-term exhibition. An elderly panda at the Jinan Zoo, named “Quan Quan”, died of respiratory failure two years ago.

“The new pandas on loan are in their prime and very healthy and active, and we’ll try our best to take good care of them,” commented the Jinan Zoo’s director, Pan Piqi. To make good on his word, Pan said they will give the pandas a comfortable home -- a 2000-square-meter panda house that was built just last year. And, it’s well equipped, with an air-conditioner, and advanced medical and air-cleaning facilities.

Four local professional breeders have been brought in to attend to the pandas and a breeder from Wolong has been asked to stay with the animals for awhile to help them acclimatize themselves to their new home. The zoo has also planted 5 hectares of bamboo to make sure the pandas have a steady diet of fresh leaves. Pan said that if everything goes well, the pandas will be on exhibit during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

By Wang Qian (China Daily Shandong Bureau)