Get set for more panda-monium in DC.
Two giant pandas are headed to Washington’s National Zoo from China about 11 months after the facility returned three beloved bears — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — as part of a deal.
The pair — Bao Li, a male, and Qing Bao, a female — jetted off to the US from a giant panda research base in the southern Chinese city of Dujiangyan on Monday night on a chartered FedEd Boeing 777 cargo jet nicknamed the “Panda Express,” stopping first in Alaska before heading to DC on Tuesday. Both pandas are 3 years old.
“We have prepared corn buns, bamboo shoots, carrots, water, and medicine to ensure the pandas’ needs are met during the flight,” said the China Wildlife Conservation Association in a statement.
The organization noted that China’s partnership with the zoo will “make new contributions in protecting global biodiversity and enhance the friendship of the people from the two countries.”
Bao Li, which means “precious vigor,” and Qing Bao, or “green treasure,” will remain in the US for 10 years, according to an agreement between China and the zoo.
The pair was set to land at Dulles International Airport in Virginia and be quarantined for at least a month before making their way to the zoo. They aren’t expected to go on public view for at least several weeks after that.
On Monday night, the zoo’s website shared an alert that the entire facility would be closed Tuesday, without giving a reason. Another article on the website noted that new pandas would be coming before the end of the year.
The zoo’s previous deal involving pandas from China expired last year, sending male bear Tian Tian, 26, female partner Mei Xiang, 25, and their 3-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji back home.
The two new pandas’ arrival marks progress in US-China relations.
China had been taking its pandas back in droves in recent years — without sending replacements — as loan agreements lapsed and tensions between the two countries mounted.
Tensions only eased when Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly stated a desire to continue the panda-exchange program in November.
Since then, a new pair of bears arrived at the San Diego Zoo, while another set has been promised to San Francisco.
The Chinese government traditionally receives $1 million per panda every year under its loan deals.
With Post wires
