After a year with no pandas in the zoo, the 3-year-old giant pandas named Bao Li and Qing arrived from China in the wake of so-called panda diplomacy between the two countries. Photo: The New York Times.
A pair of pandas from China arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, in a revival of so-called panda diplomacy after an 11-month pause that had left countless zoogoers disappointed by the absence of the lovable black-and-white bears.
After their long flight from China touched down at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia on Tuesday morning, the two 3-year-old giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, travelled in a police-escorted motorcade through central Washington. The bears rode in a pair of large FedEx delivery trucks bearing panda images on their sides and passed just blocks from the White House.
“DC’s newest celebrities are HERE!” the National Zoo giddily posted on social media. A message on the zoo’s website said they would be available for public viewing beginning in January, following what zoo officials have said would be a quarantine period.
The transfer was first announced in a statement by the China Wildlife Conservation Association, which said the pandas would visit the National Zoo under a 10-year agreement.
The National Zoo, which announced in May that the pandas would arrive by the end of the year, was closed on Tuesday to allow for a safe and orderly transfer of the bears.
The pandas have long been one of Washington’s top attractions, and excitement was already building outside the zoo on Tuesday morning ahead of their arrival. Several television camera crews along with amateur videographers staked out the zoo’s entrance. Baked by Yael, a bakery across the street from the entrance, was offering panda-themed cake pops and panda black-and-white cookies.
The zoo was left without pandas for the first time in more than 50 years when three of the bears, two adults and their cub, left in November for a nature preserve in China’s Sichuan Province. Until then, pandas had been a constant presence in the nation’s capital since 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon visited Beijing to establish diplomatic relations between the United States and China.
During the trip, Patricia Nixon, the first lady, mentioned her love for pandas to China’s premier, Zhou Enlai, who shipped a pair over two months later.
Chinese pandas have remained at the zoo since then under a series of agreements between the two countries until the last one expired without an immediate renewal last year.
The absence of pandas from the United States prompted speculation that a recent downward slide in U.S.-China relations was to blame. Zoo officials have downplayed the idea, saying that the pandas had reached an age when they should return to China.
But China’s leader, Xi Jinping, suggested in a speech shortly after their departure last November that the pandas were a component of diplomacy between his country and the United States. Beijing was “ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation,” Mr Xi said during a mid-November visit to San Francisco.
Mr. Xi met with President Biden during that visit, in a summit that analysts say has helped ease tensions between the countries. A pair of pandas from China arrived at San Diego’s zoo in June.
In Washington on Tuesday, traffic halted along Connecticut Avenue as the panda motorcade rolled into the zoo’s entrance.
Kirsten Svane, who wore “panda ears” on her head for the occasion, teared up as she used her phone to record the grand arrival.
“You know, when Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji left, I felt like I was losing my best friends in a way,” Svane said, referring to the pandas that departed last fall.
“You just really get to know their personality, what they like, what they don’t like, their habits, like everything,” she added. “I’m excited to be able to, you know, form that relationship again.”
As of early Tuesday afternoon, the National Zoo’s famed panda cam page was not active. But a message assured visitors that live footage would be “coming soon.”
一對大貓熊從中國返回華盛頓特區國家動物園
週二，一對來自中國的大熊貓抵達華盛頓特區的史密森尼國家動物園，這是所謂的大熊貓外交的複興，此前，這一外交在暫停11 個月後，讓無數動物園遊客因這只可愛的黑與白大熊貓的缺席而感到失望。
週二早上，從中國出發的長途航班降落在弗吉尼亞州北部的杜勒斯國際機場後，兩隻三歲大熊貓「包麗」和「青包」在警察護送的車隊中穿過華盛頓市中心。 這些熊乘坐兩輛側面貼有熊貓圖案的聯邦快遞大型送貨卡車，經過距離白宮僅幾個街區的地方。
“DC 最新的名人都在這裡！” 國家動物園在社群媒體上發布了令人眼花繚亂的消息。 動物園網站上的一條消息稱，在動物園官員所說的隔離期之後，它們將從一月份開始向公眾開放。
此次轉讓首先由中國野生動物保護協會在聲明中宣布，該協會表示，根據為期十年的協議，大熊貓將參觀國家動物園。
國家動物園在五月宣布大熊貓將於今年底抵達，但週二關閉，以便安全有序地轉移熊貓。
長期以來，大熊貓一直是華盛頓最熱門的景點之一，週二早上，在它們抵達之前，動物園外就已經熱鬧起來。 幾名電視攝製組和業餘攝影師在動物園的入口處監視。 入口對面的一家麵包店由Yael烘焙，提供熊貓主題的棒棒糖和熊貓黑白餅乾。
動物園50多年來首次沒有大熊貓，當時三隻大熊貓（兩隻成年大熊貓和它們的幼崽）於11月離開，前往中國四川省的一個自然保護區。 在此之前，自 1972 年理查德·尼克森 (Richard M. Nixon) 總統訪問北京以建立中美外交關係以來，大熊貓就一直出現在這個國家的首都。
在訪問期間，第一夫人帕特里夏·尼克松向中國總理周恩來提到了她對大熊貓的熱愛，兩個多月後周恩來運送了一對大熊貓。
此後，根據兩國之間的一系列協議，中國大熊貓一直留在動物園裡，直到去年最後一項協議到期且沒有立即續約。
美國沒有大貓熊出現，引發了人們的猜測，認為最近的中美關係下滑是罪魁禍首。 動物園官員淡化了這個想法，說大熊貓已經到了應該返回中國的年齡。
但中國領導人習近平在去年 11 月離開後不久的一次演講中表示，大貓熊是中國與美國之間外交的一個組成部分。 習近平在 11 月中旬訪問舊金山時表示，北京「準備繼續與美國在大熊貓保護方面合作」。
習近平在那次訪問期間會見了拜登總統，分析師稱這次峰會有助於緩解兩國之間的緊張關係。 六月，一對來自中國的大熊貓抵達聖地牙哥動物園。
週二，在華盛頓，當熊貓車隊駛入動物園入口時，康乃狄克大道上的交通停止了。
克斯汀·斯萬 (Kirsten Svane) 頭上戴著“熊貓耳朵”，用手機記錄下這一盛大的到來，她淚流滿面。
「你知道，當美香、甜甜和小七姬離開時，我感覺自己在某種程度上失去了我最好的朋友，」斯萬說，他指的是去年秋天離開的熊貓。
「你只是真正了解他們的個性，他們喜歡什麼，他們不喜歡什麼，他們的習慣，就像一切，」她補充道。 “我很高興能夠再次建立這種關係。”
截至週二下午早些時候，國家動物園著名的熊貓攝影機頁面尚未啟用。 但一則訊息向參觀者保證，現場錄影將「很快推出」。
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