Airport workers watch as the FedEx Panda Express aircraft carrying two giant pandas taxis along the runway at Edinburgh airport in Scotland on Dec. 4. A pair of giant pandas arrived in Scotland to a reception of cheering and flag-waving crowds, the bears loaned by China in a move lauded by British officials as strengthening ties between the two countries. David Moir/Reuters
Tian Tian, a female giant panda, looks out of her container as it is unloaded off an aircraft at Edinburgh airport in Scotland on Dec. 4. David Moir/Reuters
Yang Guang settles into his new home at Edinburgh Zoo, as two giant pandas – the first to live in the United Kingdom for almost 20 years – arrived in Scotland on Dec. 4. The eight-year-old breeding pair will live at the zoo for the next 10 years. Rob McDougall/AP
Jeremy Browne, British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, poses with a giant panda at Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Ya'an, in southwest China's Sichuan province, on Nov. 17. Mr. Browne and his team visited the facilities from which two giant pandas were transported to Britain. Li Qiaoqiao/Xinhua/AP/File
Researchers dressed in panda costumes put a panda cub into a basket before transferring it to a new living environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan province, on Feb. 20. Researchers wear panda costumes to ensure that the cub's environment is devoid of human influence, according to local media. China Daily/Reuters
Twin pandas Po (top) and De De play inside their enclosure at the Madrid Zoo & Aquarium on Nov. 11. The twins were conceived through artificial insemination in a joint effort by Spain's National Research council and scientists from China. Sergio Perez/Reuters/File
One of a pair of recently-born twin pandas is held by a veterinarian during its presentation to the media at Madrid Zoo & Aquarium in 2010. The cubs are the first of their species to be born in Spain since 1982, according to Chinese veterinarian Yuan Bo. Andrea Comas/Reuters/File
Giant panda cubs climb on a log at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on Nov. 1. The giant panda is an endangered species and is the most expensive animal to maintain in captivity. China Daily/Reuters/File
An employee feeds a giant panda cub at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on Oct. 25. Pandas have been kept in zoos in China since the Western Han Dynasty. China Daily/Reuters/File
A giant panda hugs a cub at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on Oct. 25. China Daily/Reuters/File
Giant panda cubs lie in a crib at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on Sept. 26. China Daily/Reuters/File
Female giant panda Tian Tian eats an fruitsicle at the National Zoo in Washington on Jan. 20. That day, Zoo director Dennis Kelly and the Secretary General of the China Wildlife Conservation Association Zang Chunlin signed a new giant panda cooperative research and breeding agreement for five more years. American zoos pay as much as $1 million per panda per year to the Chinese government for a typical 10-month contract. Jose Luis Magana/AP/File
Giant pandas eat carrots at Bifeng Gorge Breeding Base of Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Ya'an, Sichuan province, China, in 2010. China Daily/Reuters
Giant pandas enjoy a cake made from ice and fruits at Shanghai Wild Animal Park in Shanghai, China, in 2010. Stringer/Reuters/File
Across the country, the Chinese New Year was welcomed with celebrations through the night. Firecrackers, traditionally thought to ward off evil spirits, were set off in the streets of Beijing.
Chinese welcomed the arrival of the Year of the Snake with raucous celebrations on Saturday, setting off a cacophony of firecrackers in the streets and sending fireworks blazing into the sky to bring good fortune.
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