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Photos: See the pandas' official return to the National Zoo : The Picture Show Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao are out of quarantine and in the spotlight after a three-month wait and 8,000 mile trip from China.
January 24, 20253:51 PM ET
Qing Bao, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas, eats an apple on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. In November 2023, the National Zoo sent its three pandas — Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who had lived there since 2000, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — back to China, in advance of the expiration of their loan agreement and amidst rising tensions between the two countries. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
A panda drought — that has been unbearable for some — is finally over.
Two Giant pandas are now available for public viewing in the nation's capital.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are out of quarantine and in the spotlight after a three month wait and 8,000 mile trip from China.
Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, second from right, claps to the sounds of Crush Funk Brass Band during the opening ceremony celebrating the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
They now stand — or clumsily climb or roll around — and are ready to make their public debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Their return, after China recalled earlier furry ambassadors, marks a reboot of Panda diplomacy.
Bao Li, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas, chomps on bamboo on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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For those who can't come to D.C., the panoply of panda antics is on digital display via the the Giant Panda Cam.
People were bamboozled by the roly-poly big-eyed cuteness — such clips have drawn in millions of viewers.
Scientists and volunteers observe panda behavior from inside the Smithsonian National Zoo's Panda House on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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Tyrone Turner/WAMU
Giant panda Bao Li traverses a snowy enclosure on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The pair arrived in Washington D.C. — aboard the fittingly nicknamed "Panda Express" — from China back in October. But, they could only occasionally be glimpsed until this week. Tyrone Turner/WAMU hide caption
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China has also loaned two other giant pandas to the U.S., both at the San Diego Zoo. As a gesture of goodwill, it seems panda appeal is pretty black and white.
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