Bao Li’s grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived in D.C. in 2000 and lived at the National Zoo for nearly a quarter-century. Over the years, they welcomed the zoo’s first-ever surviving panda cubs.
A pair of 3-year-old giant pandas has arrived at the National Zoo. Although born in China, the male, Bao Li, is a third-generation Washingtonian.
Here's a catch-up on the D.C. connections of his extended family.
2000: Mei Xiang & Tian Tian arrive at the National Zoo
Bao Li's grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived in D.C. in 2000 and lived at the National Zoo for nearly a quarter-century. Over the years, they welcomed the zoo's first-ever surviving panda cubs.
2005: Tai Shan born
Tai Shan arrived in the summer of 2005, to great excitement. He was nicknamed "Butterstick" by panda fans around D.C. because, like most panda cubs, he was so small at birth that he was about the size of a stick of butter.
Tai Shan grew strong and healthy, but then it was time for him to strike out on his own.
2010: Tai Shan moves to China
Under an agreement between China and the U.S., all pandas born at the National Zoo must move to China when they're a few years old. Tai Shan's departure was even more bittersweet because no subsequent cubs were born for years.
2012: Cub dies at zoo
Tai Shan's birth was followed by a long dry spell before a crushing blow: A cub born in 2012 lived for just a week.
2013: Bao Bao born
The following year, a squirming newborn arrived, along with a stillborn twin. But as D.C. held its collective breath, the living cub thrived. At 100 days old, she was named Bao Bao, and she provided plenty of adorable entertainment for panda fans.
2015: Bei Bei born; Bao Bao moves to China
Two years later, Mei Xiang again gave birth to twins — and again, only one would survive. Although this time both twins were born alive, Bei Bei's twin died days after birth.
At 100 days old, Bei Bei received his name, which means "treasure" in Chinese. It was selected jointly by then first lady Michelle Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife, Peng Liyuan.
The same year, Bao Bao moved to China, where she would later give birth to at least three cubs, including a set of twins.
2019: Bei Bei moves to China
Following in his older siblings' footsteps, Bei Bei traveled to China aboard a FedEx Panda Express plane.
2020: Xiao Ji Qi born
Mei Xiang's youngest cub, Xiao Qi Ji, arrived in 2020. Then 22, Mei Xiang was the second-oldest giant panda in the world documented to give birth.
2023: Last three pandas leave National Zoo
The panda program has always served as a gesture of friendship and a sort of soft diplomacy between China and the United States.
The agreement to keep Tian Tian and Mei Xiang was extended several times. But they finally departed D.C. last fall, along with their youngest offspring, Xiao Qi Ji. The three went to new homes in the China Wildlife Conservation Association, leaving the National Zoo's giant panda habitat vacant for the first time in decades.
2024 & beyond: The future of panda diplomacy
The pullback of pandas from the National Zoo and other zoos in the United States initially sparked some concern.
But in February, news that China would send a new pair of giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo signaled the return of panda diplomacy — and just three months after that, D.C.-area residents celebrated when we learned that the National Zoo would also receive a new pair of pandas, including Bao Bao's son.
On Tuesday, D.C.'s newest pandas arrived and are now settling in at the National Zoo.
