Pandas are returning to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 2024. The zoo celebrated the news Wednesday, May 29, in a video announcement featuring first lady Jill Biden.
The bears, named Qing Bao and Bao Li, are both two-years-old and set to arrive by the end of 2024 through a partnership with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Bao Li has family roots in Washington. He is the son of Bao Bao, a female giant panda who was born at the zoo in 2013. He’s also the grandson of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the panda couple that left the zoo in November 2023.
At the time, Smithsonian staff called the departure a “hiatus,” but Chinese officials had yet to clarify the future of the program. The return of the beloved bears marks a new chapter of decades of “panda diplomacy.”
More pandas are set to arrive in other parts of the country as well. In April, it was announced China would send giant pandas to San Francisco’s zoo for the first time ever. In February, the San Diego Zoo announced it would welcome two panda residents.