Mainland panda pair arrive in Chengdu

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Souvenir stamps celebrating the special moment were also issued.

Zhang Hemin, director of China Giant Panda Protection Center, said, "It's hard to say goodbye. But we are content if Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan will bring joy to our Taiwan compatriots, especially primary and high school students."

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan will be resettled in a four-story building at the Taipei City Zoo after arriving in Taiwan.

Staff from the Taipei Zoo have been in Sichuan Province since October building familiarity with the giant pandas.

You Hsueh-Ying of Taipei Zoo Employee, said, "We will try our best. We will have three panda-sitters and we will take good care of them."

Together -- the names -- Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan -- mean "unite". The dashing duo are expected to meet the Taiwan public in Taiwan during the Spring Festival, which falls at the end of January.

But their public debut will also depend on how well they can adapt to their new environment.

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Editor:Zhang Ning