Pandas in the house

There is at least one Beijing star attraction that can compete for attention with the city's Olympic venues: the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo. Up to 30,000 visitors are expected to come each day during the Games to pay their respects to the panda bears.

Eight additional pandas from Sichuan arrived at the Beijing Zoo on May 24, and began meeting visitors on June 5. These pandas are called the "Olympic pandas". They are scheduled to reside at the Beijing Zoo until November.

The eight new pandas live in a specially built home, called the Olympic Pandas House, which is equipped with air-conditioning, rock sculptures, a pond, wooden climbing structures and plenty of bamboo to munch.