Two Chinese pandas begin journey to UK

Two Chinese pandas are on the way to their new home in Scotland. Both China and the UK are busy preparing these special passengers for their flight.

An 8,000 kilometre trip.

Two giant pandas from the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan has started their travel to their new home in Scotland on Saturday.

The pandas will arrive at Edinburgh Zoo on Sunday after a flight on their specially chartered plane, nicknamed the "FedEx Panda Express."

Panda trainer, Xie Hao, will travel and stay with the pandas to help them adjust.

Xie said, "Of course, the most important part is their adjustment to this new environment and the new handlers. Everything around them is new. So we need to work together with our peers in Britain to teach them about each panda’s personality and needs."

It will be the first time in almost 20 years that pandas have lived in Britain.

But this does not come cheap.

The loan will cost the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland more than 900 thousand US dollars a year.

Add to this the cost of the pandas’ special diet - a further 100 thousand US dollars a year for imported bamboo.

However, for Darren McGarry of Edinburgh Royal Zoo, this deal is more than worthy.

Darren said, "Yeah, it’s been a long process. We’ve been working hard for five years to get this deal so that the giant pandas can come to the United Kingdom and Edinburgh. And so today I’m really excited, I know that my colleagues here are very excited, we’re really looking forward to the pandas arriving in the UK. So it’s a really, really good day today."

It is hoped that the change of scenery might encourage the pandas to produce a baby cub - potentially the first to be born in Britain.