Two giant pandas arrive at new home in NE China

Two giant pandas arrived in northeast China's Jilin Province on Thursday and will meet the public on July 1.

The pair, an eight-year-old male and a seven-year-old female, settled into a new panda house at a Siberian tiger breeding base where they will stay for three years for both public viewing and scientific research, according to the provincial forestry department.

It will be the farthest north a panda has resided for a long period in China, a region usually avoided due to its cold winters, with the species preferring warmer habitats in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The pandas left the Dujiangyan Base of China Giant Panda Protection and Research in Sichuan early Thursday morning in the company of two Dujiangyan staff and three from their destination.

The group arrived in Changchun City at 1 p.m. after a five-hour flight.

The pair's new home is a 900-square-meter house, with outside areas covering another 4,800 square meters. The project cost about 14 million yuan (about 2.25 million U.S. dollars).

"Air conditioners, humidifiers, electric heaters, ultraviolet disinfection lamps are installed in the panda house to help the newcomers adjust to the local environment. Meanwhile, bamboo will be transported from Dujiangyan every week for them," said Wang Haijun, from the administration of the Siberian tiger breeding base.

"The pandas eat 50 kilograms of bamboo every day, plus carrots and apples."

A work team has been set up to handle emergencies and the experts from Sichuan will stay for at least three months for further guidance.

A national survey released in February showed that by the end of 2013, China had 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity. Endi