Eight pandas from Sichuan's earthquake zone met their fans for the first time at Beijing zoo on Thursday. The pandas will continue their celebrity visit through the Olympics.

Eight pandas from Sichuan's earthquake zone met their fans for the first time at Beijing zoo on Thursday. The pandas will continue their celebrity visit through the Olympics.

After a long journey from their damaged reserve, the pandas arrived on May 24 to a newly built panda house at the Beijing Zoo.

These pandas were scheduled to spend six months at the zoo. The special visit was planned so tourists could come and see them during the Olympics. Last month's devastating earthquake destroyed the panda breeding centre. It was only 30km from the earthquake's epicentre.

All of the pandas were born during July and August, 2006. They were flown to Beijing on a special charter plane from Sichuan's capital city Chengdu.

According to keepers, the pandas were frightened by the earthquake. It made them nervous. They slept and ate less.

Wang Pengyan, Deputy Director Sichuan Wolong Panda Breeding Centre, said, "To resume the function at our centre we need an evaluation process. We need a plan. Wolong is the best natural habitat for pandas because it offers the best environment, food and climate. We will try to keep as many pandas as possible."

The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species. It's is found only in China. An estimated 1,600 pandas live in nature reserves in Sichuan province and in neighboring provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi. The panda has become an international wildlife symbol. It's also an icon for the Beijing Olympic games in August.

Feng Yanqing, tourist from Heilongjiang, said, "Pandas are precious to our country. These pandas came all the way from the earthquake zone. They also represent the summer games. So we have special interest in them."

Men Huiying, tourist from Beijing, said, "Personally, I think showing pandas during the games is part of the green Olympics. We protect the animals. They are our national treasure and we are showing them to the rest of the world."

The 8.0 magnitude quake killed five staff at the Wolong Nature Reserve and seriously damaged all of the panda houses.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2008)