A caretaker of the Taipei zoo trains Yuan Yuan, one of the two pandas donated and will be sent by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, at a panda breeding base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province Dec. 21, 2008.  [Photo: Xinhua]

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A Taiwan-based Eva Air flight arrived in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, near midday Monday to pick up two pandas the mainland has offered to Taiwan as a gesture of goodwill.

The plane reached the Shuangliu Airport in Chengdu at 11:45 a.m. It took off from Taipei at 8:30 a.m.

If weather permits, the plane will depart with the panda pair, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, whose names together mean "Reunion," at 2 p.m. Tuesday. It is expected to reach Taipei about three hours later.

The pandas, both four years old, have been living at a breeding base in Ya'an, Sichuan. Their previous home, the Wolong Nature Reserve, was seriously damaged in the May 12 strong earthquake.

A recent check-up showed the two were quite healthy both physically and psychologically, said Huang Zhi, a Wolong Nature Reserve official.

"They are in a very good state," said Huang.

Giant pandas, known for being sexually inactive, generally go into heat for the first time after reaching the age of four and a half, but Yuan Yuan has already had her initial heat this year, according to Huang.

The expert said he believed the pair might well mate in the spring.

Two staff, a panda keeper and a veterinarian, from the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan will accompany the pandas to Taiwan.

They will bring with them a week's worth of the pandas' favorite food, such as steamed corn buns and fresh bamboo. Other necessities include medicines like motion-sickness pills.

After arriving in Taiwan, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan will be housed in a four-story building at the Taipei city zoo. They will have the first floor and an outdoor playground to themselves.

Five staff from the Taipei zoo have been at the breeding base in Sichuan since October to become familiar with the pandas.

The mainland announced in May 2005 it would donate two giant pandas to Taiwan. Their departure has been delayed for more than three years. Improved cross-Straits ties make their journey to Taiwan possible.

Giant pandas are among the world's most endangered animals. There are about 1,590 pandas living in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Through 2007, there were 239 captive bred giant pandas in the country.

The pandas bound for Taiwan are expected to meet the public during the Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar New Year, but this will depend on how they adapt to the new environment, Yang Hsiao-tung, director of Taipei's "department of information and tourism", said earlier.