A pair of Giant Pandas will move to Thailand this October, where they will live for 10 years, according to the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The four-year-old Chuang Chuang and two-year-old Lin Hui will live in Chiangma Zoo in Tailand. They were leased by Thailand government for scientific research on the artificial breeding of pandas for a term of at least 10 years, according to Zhang Guiquan, vice-director of the center.

Chuang Chuang, the male weighs 106 kilograms, and Lin Hui, the female, is 60 kilograms. They were born in the center and have been together for two years, and enjoyed a friendly relationship, said Zhang.

Zhang said Thailand will pay the rent to the center and report to the center the feeding and health situations of the two pandas. If the two pandas have offspring, the babies will belong to the center.

Thailand is rich in bamboo and there is no food problem for the two pandas, said Zhang.

The center, set up in 1980 by the Chinese government and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), now has 67 artificially bred Giant Pandas at or above half years old.

There are now only about 1,000 wild Giant Pandas and 140 artificially bred animals in the world.

(Eastday.com September 17, 2003)