On October 15, after an 8,000-mile journey from China, two giant pandas arrived at Dulles International Airport on a FedEx cargo plane. The pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will make their public debut at the National Zoo this January. This momentous occasion marks the return of giant pandas after almost a year of absence.
Two-year-old male, Bao Li—whose name means “treasure” and “energetic” in Mandarin—was born August 4, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) to father An An and mother Bao Bao. Not only was Bao Li’s mother born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in 2013, his grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, lived at the NZCBI from 2000 to 2023, where they served as ambassadors for their species.
Two-year-old female Qing Bao—whose name means “green” and “treasure” in Mandarin—was born September 12, 2021, at CCRCGP, to father Qing Qing and mother Jia Mei. Her father’s name evokes the lush and mountainous habitat where giant pandas roam in the wild.
On November 8, 2023, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and 3-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji departed from DC’s NZCBI. Months later on May 29, 2024, the NZCBI announced it will welcome a pair of 2-year-old giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, to the Zoo by the end of the year.
According to NBC Washington, renovations on the panda enclosure began almost immediately after the pandas left. The zoo claims to have improved both the indoor and outdoor enclosure in order to improve the safety for the pandas as well as space to roam.
Zoo officials stated that “new, permanent furnishings will encourage the pandas to use their natural behaviors to explore, exercise, forage, play and rest. These enriching enhancements include new rock structures with shallow pools, bamboo stands for foraging, multi-level climbing structures and enrichment items to stimulate pandas’ physical and cognitive skills.”
A National Zoo spokesperson said that of the nearly two million visitors to the zoo last year, most had stopped in to see the pandas. From January through May, there was a 23% drop in visitors from the same time last year, a direct result of the pandas’ absence and subpar weather during the normally popular spring break window.
According to American University Radio WAMU 88.5, Baked by Yael, a kosher bakery that sits across the street from the Zoo, never stopped selling its “panda pops” last winter and spring. Owner Yael Krigman said the pandas—and the tourism that surrounds them—are critical to her business.
“It’s not cheap to have a store on Connecticut Avenue and a lot of what we rely on is traffic at the zoo,” Krigman said. “So when it’s a nice day and the pandas are out, then business is booming for the zoo and also for us. When the weather is not great or when the pandas leave, business is not great for us.”
Traditionally, the giant pandas symbolize peace and friendship for China, so there were concerns when the pandas left the Zoo at a time when diplomatic tensions were beginning to rise between China and the U.S. According to the BBC, the first pandas were sent to the United States in 1941 as a gift from then-President Chiang Kai-Shek for assisting Chinese refugees during China’s war with Japan. It wasn’t until 1972 when China gifted Japan two pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, that the two countries normalized diplomatic ties. A panda couple is generally sent to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo with a 10 year agreement. Tian Tain and Mei Xiang’s 10 year agreement was extended 3 times before they departed due to tensions and their older age.
In a phone interview with the Washington Post, the Smithsonian’s secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III. said, “I am really pleased that the Smithsonian is able to do something that makes Washington smile. I didn’t want to be the Smithsonian secretary that lost the pandas so I was really committed to making sure we’d get them back.”
