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There will soon be a giant panda-shaped hole in the heart of the capital as a zoo in Washington DC bids farewell to three of its biggest stars returning to China after two decades.
Tian Tian, 26, Mei Xiang, 25, and their three-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji depart for a 19-hour journey aboard the ‘Panda Express’ to Chengdu, China on Wednesday.
They are packed into specially designed crates with 220 pounds of bamboo and plenty of apples for their journey by FedEx van and plane.
Their departure will leave the panda house at The National Zoo empty for the first time in 23 years and it is not yet clear whether they will be replaced by a new pair.
At a farewell event, director Brandi Smith consoled despondent fans by saying that “the future is bright for giant pandas.”
Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji hangs upside down from a tree in his enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington
The bears are loaded into specially designed crates for the 19-hour journey by van and plane to Chengdu, China
Workers walk with a crate containing Panda Xiao Qi Ji as it is moved from the Smithsonian National Zoo
Giant panda Mei Xiang is transported in a crate to leave
She said: ‘It’s a moment of joy because this is one more step in 50 years of a successful giant panda conservation programme, and hopefully the start of another 50 years.
“Please know that the future is bright for giant pandas. We remain committed to our program and we look forward to celebrating with all of you when pandas can return to DC.”
The trio is sent to a China Wildlife Conservation Association ‘panda base’ in Chengdu.
Bryan Amaral, senior curator at the National Zoo, told NBC, “It’s a place where they have a lot of giant pandas, very similar to what you would see – how our giant pandas live here, very similar to that.”
Smithsonian zookeepers will keep the bears company during their 19-hour journey.
They will be loaded into their crates and onto a special FedEx truck Wednesday morning and then drive to Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
From there, it’s all on board the ‘Panda Express’, a special Boeing 777 FedEx aircraft complete with panda and Smithsonian logo for the journey back to China.
Their long flight includes a brief fuel stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
Employees from the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute move bamboo for transportation
They are packed with 200 pounds of bamboo and plenty of apples for the long journey
They travel in panda-branded vans and planes to reach their new home
A truck is ready to transport a giant panda from Smithsonian’s National Zoo to China
Giant pandas have been a beloved part of the zoo since the first pair arrived in the 1970s – the first pair, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were given to President Nixon in 1972.
They died in the 1990s and were replaced in 2000 by Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, who were loaned to the Smithsonian by the Chinese government for approximately $10 million.
They were originally only supposed to stay until 2011, but the agreement was extended until 2015, then again until 2020, and finally until 2023.
But now the contract is over and it’s time for the panda family to return home.
During their years at the Smithsonian, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian gave birth to four surviving cubs, to the delight of the world.
The first three cubs, Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei, returned to China when they were a few years old.
Their youngest child, Xiao Qi Ji, which means ‘little miracle’, was born in 2020 and will return to China with them.
They have greeted thousands of zoo visitors over the past twenty years
Giant panda Mei Xiang laps up water as she rests in her enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington
Giant panda Tian Tian eats a snack while in his enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Special crates containing giant pandas are loaded onto a plane at Dulles International Airport
A plane transporting giant pandas at Dulles International Airport in Dulles
The Panda Express takes off carrying giant pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The “FedEx Panda Express” plane takes off with giant pandas Xiao Qi Ji, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang on board
The pandas’ departure comes at a time when tensions between the US and China are running high.
One China expert, Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University, said the failure to renew the bears’ contract resembled “punishment panda diplomacy,” noting that two other U.S. zoos have sold their pandas in recent years have lost.
The San Diego Zoo returned its pandas in 2019, and the Tennessee bears went home this year — meaning the only giant pandas left in America will be at the Atlanta Zoo.
Wilder told NBC that the Chinese government “may be trying to send a message.”
But zoo officials insisted the panda’s return was not political.
Brandie Smith, director of the National Zoo, told News4 in August, “We’re a bunch of scientists; We’re a bunch of animal people. This is not a political conversation.
“This is definitely a conversation between colleagues talking about what’s best for the overall program, and also, what’s best for individual animals?”