Giant panda Fu Bao is to be loaded onto a specially-made vehicle in Yongin, South Korea, April 3, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Liu Xu)

Fu Bao, the first giant panda born through natural breeding in South Korea, will return to China on Wednesday, according to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas.

The center announced the news on its WeChat public account on Tuesday.

Last week, Everland Park in South Korea announced that Fu Bao is expected to depart from the park at 10:40 am local time, traveling to Incheon International Airport in a specially arranged vehicle.

According to South Korean media reports, Fu Bao will be transported in a "non-vibrating" special vehicle typically used for transporting semiconductors. Upon arrival at the airport, Fu Bao will transfer to a chartered flight provided by China and be flown back to the Shenshuping Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan province.

A South Korean giant panda caretaker will accompany Fu Bao on the chartered flight and will go back to South Korea after ensuring Fu Bao's safe arrival in China.

In an interview with China News Service, the caretaker said, "There are many keepers in China who are more outstanding than me. I trust my friends (the keepers in China), so I am confident that Fu Bao will surely be happy. I hope that after Fu Bao returns to China, Chinese fans will love him even more."

Fu Bao will turn 4 years old in July 2024. According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), giant pandas gifted by China to foreign countries must return to China before reaching the age of 4.

In January, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated that since her birth, the panda Fu Bao has been deeply loved by the people of South Korea and has played a positive role in enhancing the friendly feelings between the Chinese and South Korean people.