Pandas are welcome as 'stars' in Australia

The governor of the state to the airport, the frantic parade, police escort and party on the street are the activities that a city in Australia has taken to pick up a pair of pandas from China.

According to the AP, male bears Wang Wang (4 years) and female bear Fu Ni (3 years old) arrived in Adelaide on November 28 under a loan agreement between China and Australia. They will live in the city zoo for 10 years.

12 people dressed in panda-like clothes stood in rows on the runway at Adelaide Airport to welcome the panda carrier. Mr. Mike Rann, the chief minister of South Australia, and many state officials and Adelaide zoo leaders, also came to the airport with a banner with the words 'Welcome'. They also carry young bamboos to give bears.

After the couple left the plane, an 18-car convoy left the airport to enter Adelaide city center. Here people hold a parade through many streets and a banquet that every citizen can join. The party lasted until the end of the afternoon.

Police escort the pair of bears to the zoo, where they will live in an area of ​​10 hectares. The area is designed like natural forest, consisting of countless bamboo trees and rocks that can automatically cool down. With these rocks, zoo officials hope the bears will feel comfortable during the hot summers in Australia. Two panda experts will be in Adelaide for several months to help them adapt to the new environment. Two bears will be in the quarantine area 30 days before the public debut.

Wang Wang Panda in the Bifengxia Large Breed Breeding Center, Xian City, Sichuan Province, China.Photo: AP.

'Two bears are happy and relaxed when entering the quarantine area. They stretch their legs and eat fruit , 'said Emily Rice, a zoo spokesman.

"Our dream has come true," said Chris West, managing director of Adelaide Zoo.

West hopes the panda will generate AUD 600 million (about 10,415.4 billion VND) in 10 years in Adelaide. According to calculations by the South Australian state government, 1.3 million people of kangaroos and more than 262,000 foreign tourists will visit the zoo to watch bears.

China often gives precious animals to foreign countries to show good relationships. President Hu Jintao promised to lend Australia a pair of pandas during his visit to the country in 2007. They used to live at the Bifengxia Large Breed Breeding Center, Xian City, Sichuan Province, China. They were previously raised at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center, which was destroyed in the last great earthquake.

According to the AP, the world only has about 1,600 pandas living in the wild. Another 120 are living in Chinese zoos and breeding facilities. The country advocates for other countries to hire pandas for a certain period of time. The money collected will be used to implement research programs and breed animals. Under the terms of the lease, the pandas born abroad are still Chinese assets.