The first giant pandas to live in Britain for almost two decades are to have a ‘tunnel of love’ to encourage them to mate and a nursery for their offspring, it has emerged.

Edinburgh Zoo unveiled plans for the ￡250,000 state-of-the-art enclosure being built for the pair, called Tian Tian and Yang Guang, ahead of their arrival from China later this year.

Among the other features of their new home, the zoo’s former gorilla house, will be a bamboo forest, a small cave suitable for sleeping, climbing frames and paddling pools to cool themselves.

There will also be a fully-fitted kitchen for keepers to prepare food, a hospital for dealing with any emergencies, a birthing area and the nursery.

The public will be able to view the pandas at close quarters from either a split-level, glass-fronted walkway or a number of webcams that will broadcast live footage over the internet.

However, one area where it is hoped the pandas can get some privacy is the tunnel running between their two enclosures. They are notoriously solitary animals and their breeding season lasts only between two and seven days from March to May.

Marty Hall, the zoo’s facilities manager, said: “The tunnel means that they can meet up at controlled times and there are enough areas away from the public where they can go and hide away together.”

Both pandas are being lent to Britain for 10 years, although it is expected that any offspring they produce during that period will be returned to China shortly after birth.

The last pandas in the UK, Ming Ming and Bao Bao, were shipped out in 1994 after failing to mate. Only nine zoos outside China currently house the animals, three of which are in Europe.

Edinburgh Zoo is expecting to double its visitor numbers after their arrival, which followed five years of negotiations at the highest political and diplomatic levels.

Tian Tian, a female, and Yangguang, a male, were both born in 2003 and are currently housed at Wolong Panda Breeding Centre in China’s Sichuan Province, which is home to 250 breeding giant pandas.

However, the animals’ low sex drive means only 20 panda cubs are born in captivity every year around the world. Both Edinburgh’s new pandas have produced offspring previously, but not with each other.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)