HONG KONG – Giant pandas An An and Ke Ke, gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, landed at Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday morning.

The SAR government organized a welcome ceremony at the airport for the giant pandas upon their much-awaited arrival in the city at 11 am. Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung led the welcome event.

Airport staff rolled out the red carpet to welcome An An and Ke Ke, who are both five years old, and they received warm wishes and blessings from the public.

READ MORE: Sichuan bids farewell to pandas bound for HK

Chan said at the ceremony that a series of events will be held in the coming months, including a naming competition for the giant pandas and a painting contest, to enhance the festive atmosphere of welcoming the pandas in the city.

With the 75th National Day approaching, the SAR government and various sectors are organizing a series of celebratory events, including activities such as the Next Generation Chorus Performance and A Thousand Youths in Chinese Costumes, he added.

In such joyful moments, welcoming a pair of adult and vibrant pandas into the Hong Kong family adds even more joy to the celebrations, said Chan.

Around 2 am on Thursday, An An and Ke Ke were loaded onto vehicles and transported from the panda center in Dujiangyan to the airport. Their flight took off around 9 am from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan province.

The day before, Yeung, along with central government officials and Paulo Pong Kin-yee, chairman of Ocean Park, had bid farewell to the pandas at a ceremony in Sichuan.

At the ceremony, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda handed over the panda archives to Ocean Park Hong Kong.

Dong Li, the caregiver responsible for the pandas, and the veterinarian Cheng Yanxi, from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda accompanied the pandas onboard their flight.

The crates used to transport the pandas are spacious enough for them to turn around, stand up, and roll over.

Ample food and sufficient water were provided for them, along with necessary medication on the flight.

Experienced animal keepers and veterinarians from the Dujiangyan panda center and Ocean Park also accompanied the pandas on the trip.

The pandas will undergo 30 days’ quarantine at Ocean Park, followed by an additional 30 days to familiarize themselves with their new home They are expected to make their public debut in mid-December.

In October, the city will host an event inviting the public to suggest new names for the pandas.

"I'm very excited that I can accompany An An and Ke Ke to Ocean Park Hong Kong," said Paulo Pong Kin-yee, chairman of Ocean Park Hong Kong.

Under the joint care of experts from Sichuan and Ocean Park Hong Kong, the two pandas had undergone simulation training every day while in Sichuan, including preparing for the transport process and the conditions they will face when they arrive in Hong Kong.

"The two pandas are currently in good condition," said Cheng Yanxi, the vet with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda who accompanied the two pandas on Thursday.

Cheng expected to work in Hong Kong for two to three months to help the pandas fully adapt to the new environment.

To understand the new pandas' characteristics, food preferences and behavior, Ocean Park Hong Kong sent a keeper to Sichuan in July to let the pandas get used to his voice, scent and presence, and the keeper also carried out some basic care training.

The new pandas, who are used to eating bamboo from Sichuan, need to change their diet and they have been provided with bamboo from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

Ocean Park Hong Kong has said it transported bamboo from Guangdong to Sichuan so that the pandas could get used to the type of bamboo they will eat after arriving in Hong Kong.

Giant pandas will also be fed bamboo from Sichuan while in the transition period in Hong Kong. At certain times of the year giant pandas may have poor appetites, so fresh bamboo leaves would be shipped directly from Sichuan to Hong Kong.

ALSO READ: HK residents may be able to meet city's newborn twin pandas in early 2025

The central government gifted Hong Kong with its first pair of giant pandas in 1999, however, both pandas passed away in 2016 and 2022 at the ages of 38 and 35, respectively. Jia Jia, which died at 38 in 2016, was the world's longest-living captive giant panda.

The central government gifted a second pair in 2007 and they had recently given birth to twin panda cubs.

Contact the writer at stephyzhang@chinadailyhk.com