US-born pandas Taishan and Meilan arrive home

After a fifteen hour flight, Tai Shan and Mei Lan arrived Thursday in their ancestral home of Sichuan. Despite the long journey, the two pandas are in good condition. They will undergo a month of quarantine before going to their new home.

After a fifteen hour flight, Tai Shan and Mei Lan arrived Thursday in their ancestral home of Sichuan.

A long journey comes to an end as Tai Shan and Mei Lan finally arrived in a homeland they have never seen.

Both are doing well after the long flight, and are never shy of greeting the welcoming public -- in this case a large group of media.

Tai Shan's new home is the Wolong nature reserve. Mei Lan will live at the Chengdu panda breeding facility. Both will be placed in quarantine for a month. Once in their new homes, they will meet the public.

The two American-born pandas have been superstars since their birth, attracting millions of fans. Their parents were loaned to US zoos by the Chinese government for conservation.

The birth of the two pandas was the result of joint efforts by Chinese and US breeding experts. Under an agreement between the two countries any offspring from Pandas will be returned to China.

But their caretakers in China need to create a familiar environment through language for the pandas. The team taking care of Tai Shan is mastering its English, and Mei Lan's new home is looking for a teacher to get the American-born panda familiar with Chinese.