LONDON - A project named "UK schools welcome pandas from China" was launched Thursday in preparation for two pandas, which will join the Edinburgh Zoo in the coming weeks.

"The arrival of these rare and much loved bears will attract a great deal of interest in China and Britain," Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to Britain, said at a ceremony in London during which the project was launched.

The project, including a panda drawing competition for British students, a bilingual speech contest on pandas or Chinese culture for middle school students, and the launching of the panda-themed website "Panda Pals," will help British students learn more about China.

"Panda Pals" will also collaborate with BBC's program "Blue Peter" on a possible initiative to name the pandas.

The winner of the drawing competition, along with his or her parents, will be awarded a trip to China and visit the pandas' hometown in China's Sichuan province.

Liu said the project will draw more attention to cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Britain. He added that in many aspects, the project is symbolic of a closer partnership between the two countries.

The pandas, which are on loan from China, are arriving in Edinburgh by the end of the year, making them the first pandas to live in Britain in 17 years.