The 10 giant panda cubs being kept in Shanghai for the upcoming World Expo are adapting to their new life and presently enjoying a peaceful Chinese New Year holiday.

The Shanghai Zoo, the pandas' temporary home, is quiet as most families are doing last-minute grocery shopping and preparing New Year's eve feasts.

The pandas apparently enjoy the peace and quiet. Without the gazes and yells from crowds of avid watchers, they seem more relaxed playing outdoors or sucking in fresh bamboo leaves.

Their New Year feast is scheduled at 3:00 PM, said panda keeper Chen Lihua at the zoo.

"The menu is as usual: bamboo and corn bread for the main course, and milk, apples and carrots," said Chen. "We also prepared their favorite bamboo shoots as a treat, which they devour the way kids eat candies."

The pandas, six females and four males, arrived in Shanghai early in January for a year-long stay.

They will be on display at the Shanghai Zoo for six months and spend the latter half of the year at the Shanghai Wildlife Park, the largest display of giant pandas outside their home province of Sichuan.

The pandas, all about one year and a half old, were born at a breeding base in the Bifeng Gorge of Ya'an after the deadly Wenchuan earthquake of 2008.

Four keepers from their Sichuan home, who have been caring for the cuddly bears all the while, are staying in Shanghai for the holiday to keep the pandas company.

Shanghai Zoo, at least 50 years old, is a 743,000-square-meter enclosure near the Hongqiao International Airport. It is home to more than 6,000 animals of 620 species, including the rare golden monkeys and south China tigers.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2010)