The Smithsonian National Zoo announced Wednesday that giant pandas would return to Washington, D.C.
After nearly six months without pandas in the zoo, China will send two panda bears to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington. In a comical video featuring first lady Jill Biden, the Smithsonian announced the pandas’ return.
“As secretary of the Smithsonian, I’m thrilled to announce that within this year, we’ll once again welcome a new pair of giant pandas to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian, said in the announcement video.
Panda bears Qing Bao and Bao Li will arrive in Washington sometime before the end of 2024. An exact timeline was not announced.
Since 1972, the United States and China have engaged in panda diplomacy. The first pandas were sent to the U.S. under then-President Richard Nixon, and then-first lady Pat Nixon donated them to the National Zoo.
In the late 2010s, with a straining diplomatic relationship, China began not renewing contracts for pandas to remain in the U.S. In 2019, the pandas at the San Diego Zoo returned to China. Late last year, Washington’s pandas also embarked on their return to China.
Following that, Bunch wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post on the importance of panda diplomacy.
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“Pandas are a vital source of cultural diplomacy — using the arts, science and history to help nations find common ground with the hopes of building on our shared humanity to create a more peaceful world. The pandas were a bridge between the American people and the Chinese people,” Bunch and undersecretary Ellen Stofan wrote.
“If we can save this iconic species, then surely, we can work together to tackle some of our greatest challenges, including climate change and preservation of ecosystems around the world,” they said.
