The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will send officials to Sichuan province “soon” to discuss the arrangements for receiving two pandas, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.

On Monday, when the city celebrated its 27th anniversary of returning to the motherland, the central government announced that it will gift the SAR another pair of giant pandas by way of congratulations.

Lee emphasized that Hong Kong has rich experience in receiving giant pandas, and Ocean Park also has sufficient capability to raise them. He said he believes the new pair will bring joy and delight to Hong Kong residents, as well as attract global visitors to the city

Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee told reporters that he has tasked the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to send delegates to Sichuan, which is renowned as the home of giant pandas, “as soon as possible”, to discuss with local authorities the arrangements for two pandas’ delivery to Hong Kong, including sanitary procedures the pandas need to undergo and accommodation for them in the SAR.

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The four pandas gifted by the Chinese mainland authorities to Hong Kong in the past had lived or are living in the Ocean Park, which will become the home of the new pair.

Lee stressed that he shared Hong Kong residents’ excitement in anticipating the pandas’ arrival, while noting that completing all necessary procedures will take at least 30 days.

More details of the pandas, such as their gender and the naming campaign, will be decided after further discussions with the Sichuan authorities, said Lee, adding that he will tell the public as soon as the information is available.

Lee emphasized that Hong Kong has rich experience in receiving giant pandas, and Ocean Park also has sufficient capability to raise them. He said he believes the new pair will bring joy and delight to Hong Kong residents, as well as attract global visitors to the city.

The nation gifted the first pair of giant pandas — An An and Jia Jia — to the city in 1999. The second pair, Ying Ying and Le Le, arrived in the city in 2007, when the city celebrated its 10th anniversary of returning to the motherland, bringing the total number of giant pandas residing at Ocean Park to four and forming a beloved quartet for both Hong Kong people and visitors.

Jia Jia passed away in 2016 at the age of 38, making it the world’s longest-living panda in captivity, followed by An An in 2022, who lived to 35 and set a new record for the age of male panda under human care.

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Ocean Park said on Monday that it is immensely honored by this privilege and deeply grateful for the trust to accommodate new pandas. The park noted that it eagerly looks forward to collaborating closely with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to prepare for the pandas’ arrival, adding that it has world-class animal care and conservation capabilities which have long been widely recognized.

In a statement released on Monday, Pang Yiu-Kai, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board expressed his gratitude to the central government for gifting another pair of giant pandas to HKSAR, noting that the giant pandas have become Hong Kong’s valuable tourism assets since 1999.

Visiting the giant pandas has become a must-do experience in Hong Kong for mainland and overseas tourists, he added.

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com