Giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao set out on their journey to the United States on Wednesday evening, marking a new round of China-US cooperation on the conservation of the protected species.
A vehicle carrying the panda bears departed from the Ya’an Bifengxia Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province. They will board a chartered flight from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to San Diego in the US state of California.
The pandas are accompanied by five experienced caretakers and veterinary experts from China and the US. To ensure the health and safety of the animals during the long-haul flight, Chinese experts have arranged food, such as fresh bamboo, bamboo shoots, fruits, vegetables and specially made bread, and drinking water.