Giant panda Shuan Shuan, recovering in Tokyo from a 20-hour journey from Mexico, appeared "very upbeat" and was getting ready to meet her lovematch, a zoo official said yesterday.

　　The 16-year-old female had dined on bamboo leaves, boiled carrots and a fruit-and-vegetable milkshake - made from a Mexican recipe - following her arrival at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo late on Wednesday, zoo spokesman Masanori Ono said.

　　"She appears very upbeat despite the long journey," said Ono. "She had a big appetite last night."

　　Officials hope she will mate with 18-year-old Ling Ling during this stay - a suitor she has met previously on Ling Ling's three past trips to Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo.

　　Those attempts had ended unsuccessfully after Ling Ling exhibited signs that he was ill at ease, Ono said.

　　Zoo officials had decided to bring a female to Tokyo hoping that Ling Ling would feel more comfortable on his own turf, he said.

　　If the breeding is successful, Shuan Shuan will remain in Japan until the spring of 2006 to watch over her offspring. If she does not get pregnant, she will return to Mexico next August.