South Australia has two new giant pandas Yi Lan and Xing Qiu who are tonight settling in at Adelaide Zoo. The pair replace Wung Wung and Fu Ni the much loved duo who drew crowds to the zoo for 15 years but were never able to produce offspring. The new arrivals are being seen as another sign of thawing ties between Canberra and Beijing.
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00:00An early morning touchdown in Adelaide, ending a 15-hour journey from China.
00:07It was then a delicate operation to unload the precious cargo and transport Australia's
00:11new panda pair to their new home at Adelaide Zoo.
00:14It is very symbolic because it brings with them the friendship of the Chinese people
00:20and the Chinese government to Australia.
00:24Four-year-old male Xing Qu, meaning Autumn Star, and three-year-old female Yi Lan, meaning
00:29Idly Blissful, were given the all-clear by vets and are now adjusting to life down under.
00:35They need to be in quarantine for about a month, but then they'll be able to be on display
00:40and I'm sure that they'll be embraced yet again.
00:43Yi Lan and Xing Qu replace Wang Wang and Funi, who returned to China last month after 15
00:49years at Adelaide Zoo.
00:51Just like their predecessors who captivated crowds, the new pandas are expected to be
00:55a tourism drawcard.
00:57The only place in the southern hemisphere to see the giant pandas is in Adelaide.
01:02But unlike Wang Wang and Funi, it's hoped these two might have better luck starting
01:06a family.
01:07They are three and four years old.
01:09They are not ready to have babies yet, but let's see, let's see.
01:14We will expect very highly of that.
01:19Adelaide is experiencing very warm temperatures today, but Chinese officials say while it
01:24is hotter than back home, measures are being taken to make the heat a little more bearable.
01:29They have air conditioning just like we do in the airplane and of course they have prepared
01:38very well.
01:39The pair are on loan from China at a cost around $1.5 million a year.
01:43They're also part of China's soft power, or what's known as panda diplomacy.
01:47The South Australian government hopes they help build on the country's relationship with
01:51China.
01:52China is Australia's biggest trading partner, most significant trading partner.
01:56Yilan and Hsinchu are expected to be on show to the public from mid-January.