Crowds gather to see pandas arrive in the Netherlands

The Netherlands welcomed its first Chinese giant pandas this week, something that seemed to galvanize the whole nation.

The two pandas, named Xing Ya (Elegant Star) and Wu Wen (Beautiful Powerful Cloud), landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday night, to the delight of a waiting crowd of more than 300 people. Among those watching the arrivals were Dutch and Chinese dignitaries, journalists, and special guests.

Following 16 years of hard lobbying by Dutch animal lovers, China promised the pandas to the Netherlands while King Willem-Alexander was on a state visit to China in October 2015.

Seen as symbols of friendship between the two countries, the two Chinese panda cubs will be "loaned"for 15 years to the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, which is 75 km from the capital.

Royal Dutch Airlines KLM Cargo, which has previously transported giant pandas around the globe, again handled the job, taking Xing Ya and Wu Wen from Chengdu to their new home.

Marcel de Nooijer, executive vice-president of KLM Cargo, said: "It is really a special occasion for our country to receive Chinese pandas for the first time,and we are very honored to be a part of the process which has already caught great attention in the country."

The level of attention has been intense, with the pandas seemingly the number one topic of conversation, dominating Dutch newspapers, television shows, and radio stations, de Nooijer said.

"This is the fourth time that KLM Cargo has transported giant pandas, including twice from Vienna to Chengdu and once from Madrid to Chengdu, but it is the first time we have brought them to Dutch soil."

During a farewell ceremony in China earlier this week, the pandas were offered a Schengen visa and each were gifted bamboo bicycle, in a nod to the Dutch cycling culture.

Upon their arrival, the animals were taken to the KLM Animal Hotel for customs clearance and health checks.

To celebrate the arrival of the pandas, the Ouwehands Zoo commissioned Pandasia, a complex of buildings that will house the couple, and a Chinese restaurant on the floor above.

Robin de Lange, director of the zoo, said the zoo was expecting a huge increase in visitor numbers.

"We have made an online reservation system with a maximum of 10,000 visitors a day and we will see what happens," he said.

The giant panda is an endangered species that is only found in the wild in China.

At the last count, there were around 1,850 giant pandas living in the wild.