8 Olympic pandas to arrive in Beijing as scheduled

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-24-2008 15:01

Eight pandas from the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in Sichuan Province are due to arrive in Beijing on Saturday. They will be on show for tourists during the Olympic Games, until November. The visit was planned long before the earthquake struck 12 days ago.

Eight pandas from the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve  in Sichuan Province are due to arrive in Beijing  on Saturday.

The eight two-year-old giant pandas were chosen in an online poll from 16 candidates born in 2006 in Wolong's Panda Protection and Research Center. They are expected to attract more than 6 million tourists during their time at the Beijing Zoo.

Wu Daifu, panada handler, said, "The eight pandas may have some problems or contract diseases during the long trip to Beijing. But I think there is going to be no problem with the move according to our past experience."

Wolong planned to send up to eight panda handlers, vets and technicians to take care of the animals during their stay in Beijing.