Dutch zoo is ready for pandas' arrival

Robin de Lange, the Ouwehands Zoo director in the Netherlands, says his zoo has been well prepared for the arrivals of Sichuan giant pandas. [Photo by Fu Jing/ China Daily]

Over the years de Lange and his boss have been in close contact with Chinese officials, though there was no progress until last August, two months before the king traveled to China.

Then, Chinese embassy diplomats started talks with them over ways to underline the significance of the King's visit, a return visit after Xi's state visit to the Netherlands in March 2014. The Netherlands was the first European Union country Xi visited since he was elected as Chinese president in early 2013.

To prepare the agreement and follow-up, De Lange says his zoo set up a panda task-force, consisting of 4-5 persons.

The zoo director can remember the date of the agreement, October 26, but it was only two days beforehand that he was told that the president and the king could witness the signing ceremony between Ouwehands Zoo and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association.

According to the agreement, two pandas, named Xing Ya (male) and Wu Wen (female), will be "loaned" to the zoo for 15 years. When the agreement was signed, the two pandas were both three years old.

De Lange's team has been busy building the panda house and a stone's throw from the zoo's reception area is a busy construction site.

"We must present it in a very very traditional Chinese way," says de Lange with confidence.