Two giant pandas arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday after a flight from China, officials said.
“After months of planning and preparation, giant pandas Bao Li [BOW-lee] and Qing Bao [ching-BOW] arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) today, Oct. 15, at approximately 11:30 a.m. ET,” the zoo said in a statement.
The zoo said that the pandas took an “approximately 19-hour, 8,250-mile trans-Pacific trip from Chengdu, China, to Washington, D.C.,” adding that there was “a brief refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska” before they “arrived at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia at 10:30 a.m. EDT.”
On Monday, the zoo posted on the social platform X that “Something *giant* is coming to Washington, D.C. via the @FedEx Panda Express!”
“The Zoo will be closed to the public tomorrow, Oct. 15. For the safety of the pandas and staff, we will not disclose any additional timing,” the zoo added.
CNN had reported that a pair of 3-year-old pandas left a southwestern China research base late Monday local time. They were set to take a FedEx Boeing 777 cargo jet to Washington just hours later.
“We have prepared corn buns, bamboo shoots, carrots, water, and medicine to ensure the pandas’ needs are met during the flight,” a statement on the panda’s journey from the China Wildlife Conservation Association said, according to the network.
The pandas’ arrival at the National Zoo comes less than a year after three giant pandas left Washington, D.C. upon the expiration of a previous agreement.
San Francisco and San Diego have also received new pandas from China.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced at the beginning of the year that panda diplomacy would resume between the two countries before the end of 2024.
The panda exchange program began under an agreement brokered by former President Nixon in 1972 and has led to several of the popular animals being loaned to U.S. zoos for research purposes.
The Associated Press contributed.
Updated at 2:49 p.m. EDT