Two pandas born in the US are due to be flown to China to be re-settled - where they face a new diet and language.
Mei Lan, 3, and Tai Shan, 4, were born while the two sets of parents were on loan from China to US zoos. US fans say the popular pandas will be missed.
All loaned pandas and any offspring must eventually return to China.
Zoo-keepers have advertised for an English-Chinese translator to teach Mei Lan the Sichuan dialect so that she can understand basic commands.
Mei Lan, from Zoo Atlanta, and Tai Shan, a male from Washington, will become part of a panda breeding programme in Sichuan.
When they arrive in Chengdu they will be weaned off the high-fibre biscuits they have been fed in the US, and be given steamed bread and bamboo shoots instead.
Panda plane
At the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, Tai Shan's parents will remain until December when they too will return to China at the end of their 10-year loan.
Animal keeper Nicole Meese, who held Tai Shan as a baby, will travel with him on a plane emblazoned with a panda on its side.
"Every day, he makes me smile," she said, according to Associated Press.
"I'm going to miss him terribly."
She trained him to understand hand signals, and prepared a booklet of the signals to help his new keepers at the Bifengxia Breeding Base in Ya'an, Sichuan.
 Mei Lan's potential mate could be chosen by public vote |
Mei Lan would get a translator - if one could be found - as she "must be unfamiliar with Chinese", said the director of the Chengdu Panda Breeding Centre's animal management department, Huang Xiangming, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Phrases for going in and out of her dormitory would be taught, a staff member said.
She was the first cub born at Zoo Atlanta, bringing thousands more visitors to the zoo and to its webcam online.
Her parents, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, had another cub in 2008.
Potential mates for Mei Lan are being suggested on a website where people can pick their favourite based on behaviour and appearance.
Superman Kobe and Yong Yong, or Doubly Brave, are among the candidates. Experts will also have some input into the choice.
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