Queen Sofía Welcomes Pandas from China

Queen Sofía of Spain welcomed two pandas on loan from the Chinese government at the Madrid zoo, today. Bing Xing and Hua Zui Ba are part of a new breeding programme to assure the survival of the species.

Queen Sofía and King Juan Carlos had officially visited China from June 24th to June 29th to promote the "Year of Spain in China" exchange program and bilateral trade relations. It was there that the pandas were presented to the queen, but the animals did not arrive in Spain until September 8th.