Dutch crowds cheer as giant panda begins long journey to China

A van carrying giant panda Fan Xing leaves the zoo (Peter Dejong/AP)

Giant panda Fan Xing has begun a long journey home — to a country she has never visited.

Onlookers applauded as the three-year-old was given a ceremonial send-off from Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands, where she was born, for the first leg of her journey to China, where she will join a breeding programme that is helping preserve the vulnerable species.