UK tourists say goodbye to two pandas after 12-year stay

China is willing to continue cooperation with the United Kingdom and other international partners on endangered species protection and biodiversity, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday as two pandas will return to China in early December after a 12-year stay at Edinburgh Zoo.

China has made good preparations to welcome the returning home of the pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian, the ministry's spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news conference.

Crowds gathered to say goodbye and catch one final look at Yang Guang and Tian Tian on Wednesday, who for 12 years have enraptured millions of visitors and residents of Edinburgh, the New York Times reported.

Since Beijing and London started cooperation in 2011, the two sides have made positive outcomes in the conservation, scientific research, technological exchange and public education regarding giant pandas, Wang said.

This has played an important role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and British peoples, he added.