Giant Pandas to make first public appearance in Netherlands on May 30

Fans of the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen will get their first chance to see the newly-arrived Giant Pandas beginning on Tuesday, May 30. Wu Wen and Xing Ya first arrived in the Netherlands from China on April 12, and spent the last month in quarantine, getting accustomed to their new surroundings.

Tickets for the general public quickly began to sell after the zoo made the announcement just before noon on Tuesday. Though entrance to the debut day is still available, it took just three hours for tickets to sell out from May 31 to June 4. Zoo members may still be able to visit on some of the sold-out dates.

The zoo’s owner, billionaire investor Marcel Boekhoorn, will be joined by Wu Ken, China’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, to open the Giant Panda enclosure, dubbed “Pandasia.” The two pandas are loaned to the zoo for a 15-year period from China at a cost of one million euros annually. Their residence is a 9,000-square-meter habitat that cost over seven million euros to build.

Admittance ranges from 20 to 25 euros for people 10 years old and up, while kids from age three to nine get a two-euro discount. Those under two years old can enter the zoo for free.