A PAIR of giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday morning.

They were sent to Ocean Park Hong Kong for health checks and quarantine, and will spend time there to adapt to the new environment. The pair, named An An and Ke Ke, is the third pair of giant pandas the HKSAR has received as gifts from the central government to mark its 27th anniversary of returning to the motherland. They are to join four others currently living in Hong Kong.

An An, a male, and Ke Ke, a female, were both born in June 2019. The two are genetically unrelated, but have complementary characters, according to Li Desheng, deputy director of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

On Wednesday, a farewell ceremony was held in the city of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, for the pair. At the ceremony, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda handed over the panda archives to Ocean Park Hong Kong.

“I’m very excited that I can accompany An An and Ke Ke to Ocean Park Hong Kong,” said Paulo Pong Kin-yee, chairman of Ocean Park Hong Kong.

“On the plane, we have prepared carrots, apples and bamboo from the hometown,” said Dong Li, a senior keeper with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

According to Dong, the two pandas spent their journey in special transport cages, and he and the vet were with them throughout the trip.

Under the joint care of experts from Sichuan and Ocean Park Hong Kong, the two pandas had undergone simulation training every day while in Sichuan, including preparing for the transport process and the conditions they will face when they arrive in Hong Kong.

“The two pandas are currently in good condition,” said Cheng Yanxi, the vet with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda who accompanied the two pandas on Thursday.

Cheng expected to work in Hong Kong for two to three months to help the pandas fully adapt to the new environment.

To understand the new pandas’ characteristics, food preferences and behavior, Ocean Park Hong Kong sent a keeper to Sichuan in July to let the pandas get used to his voice, scent and presence, and the keeper also carried out some basic care training.

The central government gifted Hong Kong with its first pair of giant pandas in 1999, however, both pandas passed away in 2016 and 2022 at the ages of 38 and 35, respectively. Jia Jia, which died at 38 in 2016, was the world’s longest-living captive giant panda.

The central government gifted a second pair in 2007 and they had recently given birth to twin panda cubs.(Xinhua)