

The pair is considered a state gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping

By Park Si-soo



A pair of Chinese panda bears, a state gift to South Korea from Chinese President Xi Jinping, arrived in Seoul on Thursday. This was part of a research project on the endangered species conducted by the two countries.

The pandas named Aibao (lovely treasure), a two-year-old female, and Lebao (pleasant treasure) a three-year-old male, flew in from the western Chinese province of Sichuan to Incheon international airport on a specially chartered flight, accompanied by vets and a handler.

Transported in a special cage, the pandas received repeated health checks during the three-hour flight, said Samsung Everland, an amusement park in Gyeonggi Province that will house the pandas.

They then rode to the park in a vehicle with advanced suspension to minimize jolts.

Dubbed "panda diplomacy," China has a tradition of sending pandas to foreign countries as a gesture of friendship. It is often a time-honored goodwill gesture by Beijing for fostering bilateral relations.





A pair of pandas ― two-year-old female Ai Bao and three-year-old male Le Bao ― are seen during a welcoming event at a cargo terminal at Incheon International Airport, Thursday, upon arrival on a chartered flight from the Chinese southwestern province of Sichuan. Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to donate the pandas when he met with President Park Geun-hye following an agreement on panda research cooperation during his 2014 visit to Korea. They will live in Samsung Everland amusement park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon



Seoul previously rented a pair of pandas in 1994, but they were returned back to their home country in 1998 following the financial crisis previous year. A total of 14 countries currently own the rare animals.

President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during his state visit here in 2014 to lease the giant bears for the joint-research purpose.

Since then, the two nations have designated Samsung Everland, which operates the country's largest amusement park south of Seoul, as the host for the bears.

The research will delve into conservation efforts and breeding programs, according to the amusement park.

The animals are one of the most endangered species on the planet with only about 2,000 giant pandas alive.

The two will be unveiled to the public starting in April, the amusement park said, adding that the bears will spend one month getting acclimated to their new environment under the intensive care of veterinarians from both countries.