After 23 years at the National Zoo in Washington DC, three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi, were returned to China. On Wednesday, they were transported to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, where they boarded a special flight to Chengdu, China.
Describing it as a “hard morning,” the director of the National Zoo, Brandie Smith, stood outside an empty panda enclosure. The farewell was bittersweet, with millions connecting with the pandas over the years through visits and the Giant Panda Cam.
The end of an era in the US marks a shift in panda diplomacy, a term referring to China sending giant pandas to other countries as a diplomatic tool. China initially gave pandas as gifts from 1941 to 1984, but after a policy change in 1984, pandas were leased instead of given.
The first panda from China to the US was given in 1972 during President Richard Nixon’s term, symbolizing efforts to resume diplomatic relations. Zoos across America have hosted giant pandas for years, but this practice has now come to an end.
Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Xiao Qi departed Washington DC for their new home in China, joining other pandas returned by zoos in Memphis and San Diego. Atlanta’s zoo, the only one with pandas left in the US, is also set to return theirs later this month. In 2024, there will be no pandas in the United States for the first time in over 50 years.
The pandas are being returned to China due to a failed contract renewal. The Smithsonian Institution, which operates the National Zoo, usually renews panda contracts but was unable to do so this year. Additionally, controversy surrounding the alleged ill-treatment of a panda named Ya Ya at the Memphis Zoo in April last year led to its return to China after the loan agreement ended without renewal.
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