A pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Macao Special Administrative Region arrived in Macao on Thursday afternoon. [Photo/Xinhua]

CHENGDU - A pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Macao Special Administrative Region left from Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Macao at around 4 pm.

They have been transported on Air China flight CA649. A welcome ceremony has been held for the pandas at a park in Macao, after which they will begin their 30-day quarantine.

The pair will be on display to the public on June 1.

A female panda, No 667, and a male, No 726, were chosen from 55 candidates in a three-month selection. The pandas will replace male panda Kaikai and his partner Xinxin, who died.

The previous pair were gifted to Macao in 2010.

It has not been decided yet whether Kaikai would return to the mainland.