The first Chinese giant pandas to travel to the Netherlands arrived this week, galvanizing the nation and delighting a crowd at the airport.

The two pandas, the male named Xing Ya (Elegant Star) and the female named Wu Wen (Beautiful Powerful Cloud), landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Wednesday night to the delight of a waiting crowd of more than 300 people. Among those watching were Dutch and Chinese dignitaries, journalists, and special guests.

Following 16 years of hard lobbying by Dutch animal lovers, China promised the pandas to the Netherlands while King Willem-Alexander was on a state visit to China in October 2015.