Panda Bao Li and Qing Bao will make their new home at Washington, D.C.
A pair of giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at Washington, D.C. on Oct. 15, after an approximately 19-hour trans-Pacific trip from Sichuan Province in southwest China. The pandas will have plenty of time to overcome jet lag. And they won’t make their public debut until the new year.
The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. welcomed Bao Li and Qing Bao, as the “panda diplomacy” between both countries resumes. The three-year-old pandas will make their new home at the zoo. The zoo’s panda exhibit had been empty for 11 months since the last pandas were sent back to China.
Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3 years old, left on Oct 14 from the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and were taken to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
The pandas’ FedEx plane — a Boeing 777F cargo jet dubbed the “Panda Express” — and the trucks that transported them both have panda images adorning on surfaces.
“Two ‘treasures’ arrived at the Zoo today! Join us in welcoming giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao, who entered Zoo grounds shortly after 11:30 am today and are settling into their new homes at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat,” the zoo posted Oct 15 on X.
According to CNN, they are the first pandas China has sent to Washington in 24 years. The previous pair returned to China last November, triggering tearful goodbyes at the Zoo.
While born in Sichuan, Bao Li has deep familial roots in Washington. His mother, Bao Bao, was born a celebrity at the National Zoo in 2013 and returned to China four years later. His grandparents, Meixiang and Tian Tian, lived at the zoo for 23 years until their lease ended last year.
“He reminds me a lot of his grandfather, Tian Tian,” said Mariel Lally, a panda keeper from the Zoo. “Bao Li looks almost identical to him, so it’s almost like having Tian Tian Junior.”
Written by Liu Sha, additional reporting by Xinhua and China Daily.
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