Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan are taking their first meal on the island.

A chartered plane carrying two giant pandas from the Chinese mainland touched down at the Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan at 5:02 p.m. Tuesday.

The 4-year-old bears, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, have already finished quarantine examinations at the airport.

The large cage they stayed in was unloaded from the plane and put on a zoo truck, which was waiting for them at the airport.

They would be escorted by the police to their new home at the Taipei zoo, according to the Taiwan-based Eastern Broadcasting Co. (EBC).

EBC's TV footage showed that the panda pair had been transported into the zoo at around 7:30 p.m.

They will be isolated for a month for further quarantine before meeting the Taiwan public.

The pair left a breeding base in Ya'an in southwest China's Sichuan Province in an enclosed truck at about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday.

They were transported to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu, about 120 km from Ya'an. From there, they were transported to the island by air.

Since the rare animals were probably tired from the journey, the Taipei zoo wouldn't hold any welcoming ceremony on Tuesday night, zoo spokesman Jason S.C. Chin said.

The panda pair have become "sweethearts" on the island. Their cartoon images were displayed at bus stations and the airport entrance.

The island's largest bookstore chain, Elite Books, put DVDs about the bears on a showcase counter. Most department stores on the island sold stuffed panda toys and stationery bearing their images.