Giant panda Yang Guang sits as visitors have one final opportunity to say goodbye before zoo keepers get him ready to make his way back to China, at Edinburgh Zoo, in Edinburgh, Thursday, Nov 30, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

CHENGDU — Giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian arrived in southwest China's Sichuan province on Tuesday morning, after wrapping up their stay in Britain.

The pair touched down at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at about 6:50 am, before being sent to the Bifengxia giant panda base in Ya'an for a month-long quarantine.

Bamboo being loaded onto the China Southern cargo plane at Edinburgh Airport as giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian begin their journey back to China after spending 12 years at Edinburgh zoo, Monday Dec 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian wait in metal crates at Edinburgh Airport on Monday ahead of their flight home on a China Southern cargo plane after spending 12 years at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. (PHOTO / AP)

Chinese pandas living in 23 institutions in 19 foreign countries are generally in good health condition

READ MORE: UK's only female giant panda artificially inseminated at zoo

Yang Guang and Tian Tian, literally meaning Sunshine and Sweetie, arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in December 2011 on a 10-year loan, which was subsequently extended for an additional two years. As the sole pandas in Britain, they garnered significant attention, attracting a record number of visitors to the zoo.

They did not give birth to any cubs during their stay in Britain. There were several attempts to get Tian Tian pregnant but none of them were successful.

Before their departure, Edinburgh Zoo conducted training sessions to acclimate the pair to the upcoming journey. The zoo had also prepared fresh bamboo for the pandas as food during the flight.

READ MORE: Britain's only female giant panda pregnant

Yang Guang (left) and Tian Tian eat bamboo stalks in its enclosure, in Edinburgh, Britain, Nov 29, 2023. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

In this file photo dated Aug 9, 2013, Tian Tian ('sweetie') the female Giant Panda at Edinburgh Zoo relaxes in her compound after zoo officials revealed that they suspect the animal may be pregnant after showing deviations in her hormone levels and exhibiting behavioural changes associated with pregnancy, after undergoing artificial insemination in April. (PHOTO / AFP)

In this file photo dated Aug 14, 2012, Yang Guang (Sunshine), a giant male panda, chews on bamboo on his ninth birthday, his first on Scottish soil, at Edinburgh Zoo in Edinburgh. (PHOTO / AFP)

An undated photo provided by Edinburgh Zoo shows giant panda Tian Tian at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

An undated photo provided by Edinburgh Zoo shows giant panda Tian Tian at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

According to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Chinese pandas living in 23 institutions in 19 foreign countries are generally in good health condition, and international collaboration in this respect has been fruitful.