The long awaited arrival of giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo is taking place this weekend.
The animals are travelling 5000 miles from China to their new home in Scotland for a 10 year loan.
The task of moving the animals across the world is being put in the hands of freight company FedEx.
Tian Tian and Yang Guang are being jetted over on a Boeing 777F, dubbed the Pandas Express by the company. The plane will feature a massive picture of the pandas on the outside.
The breeding pair will be flying directly from Chengdu Airport to Edinburgh Airport in a specially chartered flight.
The animals will be traveling in two custom-built perspex containers provided by the zoo. They will be accompanied by their keepers and will be the only passengers on the plane.
On their arrival in Scotland, Tian Tian and Yang Guang will be transferred to FedEx vans and driven straight to the zoo. A police escort will make sure the animals get to their new home without any delays.
Gerald P. Leary, president, FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa said: "FedEx Express is uniquely qualified to make this special delivery given our long history connecting China to the UK and our extensive global experience in shipping precious cargo, from packages to pandas. It is a privilege to serve as the trusted carrier of these rare animals, and we are proud to support the preservation efforts of this endangered species."
The breeding pair was given to UK as "a gift from China" during a visit from the Vice Premier of China, Li Kegiang, in January and will live at the zoo under the "custodianship" of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
It is hoped the pair will breed with only 15,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Both the pandas were born in 2003. They will be housed in a refurbished enclosure that was formerly home to gorillas.
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