A pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to Macao board an Air China plane at an airport in Chengdu city, Southwest China's Sichuan province, April 30, 2015. (Photo: China News Service/An Yuan)
A pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Macao Special Administrative Region left Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on Thursday afternoon.
They are being transported on Air China flight CA649, and are expected to arrive in Macao at around 5 p.m.
A welcome ceremony is scheduled for the pandas at a park in Macao, after which they will begin their 30-day quarantine.
The pair will be on display to the public on June 1.
A female panda, No. 667, and a male, No. 726, were chosen from 55 candidates in a three-month selection. The pandas will replace male panda Kaikai and his partner Xinxin, who died.
The previous pair were gifted to Macao in 2010.
It has not been decided yet whether Kaikai would return to the mainland.
