The two giant pandas bound for Australia left Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province Friday on a passenger plane.

Four-year-old Wang Wang and 3-year-old Fu Ni are expected to arrive at Adelaide Zoo Saturday morning, after a lengthy journey, with a stopover in Singapore.

Two specialists from China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Huang Yan and Luo Bo, will accompany the pandas in Adelaide until they are adapted to the new environment.

Wang Wang, meaning "the web", is a male panda born on Aug. 31, 2005. He is half-brother to Yuan Yuan, the female panda sent to Taiwan. He is gentle and tame, and weighs 115 kilograms.

Fu Ni, meaning "happy girl", was born in 2006 and weighs 90 kilograms. She's lively and enjoys climbing trees and frolicking in water.

The couple will stay in Australia for 10 years under the two countries' agreement for a joint research on the species.

A brief farewell ceremony was held for the two pandas at the Ya'an Nature Reserve, where they had lived since their former homes in Wolong were destroyed in the May 12 earthquake last year.

Simone Bayly, a senior zoologist from Adelaide, said the Australian zoo keepers would treat the pandas as their own children.

Even before their arrival, the bears had sparked a craze among the Australians, she said. Some families in Adelaide even planted bamboo at home.

The panda house at Adelaide Zoo covered 4,000 square meters, with an air conditioner and a playground, said Dr. Wayne Boardman, head of veterinary services at Adelaide Zoo.

He said the zoo had recreated the pandas home in Sichuan while designing their new house, in order to create a familiar environment.

Boardman and Bayly have spent two weeks in Ya'an, becoming familiar with the pandas and learn firsthand experience from China's panda keepers.

Wang Wang and Fu Ni would need about a month to fully adapt to the new environment and were likely to produce offspring in two years, said Zhang Hemin, China's top giant panda specialist who's known as the "father" of pandas.

China and Australia agreed to conduct joint research on giant pandas in 2007. The research program focuses on the breeding, reproduction and behavioral study of the rare species.

"The departure of Wang Wang and Fu Ni marks a formal beginning of such cooperation," said Zhong Yi, an official in charge of international cooperation at China Wildlife Conservation Association.

"They will bring laughter to Australians, and will cement the friendship between the Chinese and Australian peoples."

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