By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - Two giant pandas arrived in Australia after flying across approximately 8,800 kilometers (5,468 miles) from China on Sunday.
Xingqiu and Yilan that departed China's southwestern Sichuan province for Australia on Saturday afternoon, arrived in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, early Sunday morning, the Beijing-based Xinhua News reported.
Xingqiu, a four-year-old male, and Yilan, a three-year-old female, are set to settle at Adelaide Zoo for the next decade, kicking off a new round of collaboration on giant panda conservation and research between the two countries.
The initiative aims to strengthen research efforts and foster closer people-to-people ties between China and Australia.
The two pandas will undergo quarantine upon arrival at Adelaide Zoo, which has upgraded its facilities to welcome the new arrivals, ensuring an ample supply of food, and assigning an experienced care and research team to manage the pandas.
In 2009, a pair of pandas, Wangwang and Funi, began their stay at Adelaide Zoo as the only giant pandas in the Southern Hemisphere.
They drew more than 5 million visitors in 15 years until this November when they returned to China.