At 9 am on Saturday, giant pandas Xingqiu and Yilan set off from the Dujiangyan base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province on their way to Adelaide Zoo in Australia.

According to a conservation and research cooperation agreement between China and Australia, the duo will live in Australia for 10 years.

Xingqiu, male, was born in the Shenshuping base of the center in the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan in September 2020, and Yilan, female, was born in the same base in August 2021.

In order to ensure their comfort and safety onboard the plane, Chinese and Australian veterinarians and keepers have accompanied them on the same plane which took off from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan at 2:30 pm on Saturday.

The Australian veterinarian traveled to the Dujiangyan base in advance to learn the habits of the two pandas, according to Wang Yubin, a staff member of the center.

In 2009, China and Australia launched a joint giant panda conservation and research cooperation program, and as a result two pandas Wangwang and Funi settled down in Adelaide Zoo for 15 years and returned to China last month.

The departure of Xingqiu and Yilan marks a new chapter in the cooperation between China and Australia in giant panda conservation and research.