File photo: This photo dated September 3, 2005 shows two giant pandas on loan to Thailand from China, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, playing together as they stay at Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand.//AfP
China will soon be sending two pandas to Thailand, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year.
A delegation from Beijing will fly in to evaluate and decide upon the location for the pandas’ enclosure, said Natural Resources and Environment Permanent Secretary Jatuporn Buruspat.
He made the statement after chairing a meeting of representatives from the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, Chiang Mai Zoo, the Foreign Ministry and the Budget Bureau, held to discuss preparations for the pandas' arrival.
Attaporn Sriharan, Director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, said that Chiang Mai Zoo, which housed the first panda duo around 20 years ago, is evaluating whether to build a new enclosure or renovate the existing one, in case the new pandas stay there.
He declined to speculate on the final location, but acknowledged that Chiang Mai Zoo has experience in looking after pandas.
The zoo took good care of the original pair, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui. They produced a female panda cub, Lin Ping, which was born in Thailand.
Chuang Chuang died in 2019 and Lin Hui four years later. Lin Ping was sent to Beijing, as stipulated in the contract.
"Ultimately, Beijing will decide whether the enclosure will meet its requirements," Attaporn said, adding that the process may take some time and might differ from the arrangements for Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui.
China's practice of loaning giant pandas, an endangered species, to other countries—including the US, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia—is widely known as "panda diplomacy."
Typically, countries receive pandas in pairs on a ten-year loan agreement, with an annual fee of up to about US$1 million.
Panda cubs born abroad are usually sent to China when they are between the ages of two and four, to join a breeding program.
