Giant panda pair now home at the National Zoo in DC, debuting in January

When District residents said goodbye to the pandas last November, one bamboo farm in Warren County never stopped producing food for their anticipated return one day.

“We are singly responsible for the recovery of giant pandas,” Mike Maslanka, the head of nutritional science at the National Zoo, said.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, located in Front Royal, Virginia, is about 70 miles from the National Zoo. 

The bamboo is grown on the 3,200 acre campus, where the pandas will eat roughly 100 pounds of bamboo each every day.

Two big stories are spreading cheer in the D.C. area: The return of pandas to the National Zoo and the success of the Washington Commanders. Let's compare the two:

Even the White House is celebrating the return of pandas to the National Zoo.

First Lady Jill Biden released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, officially welcoming the newest residents of the National Zoo.

"They’re here!" Dr. Biden said in the statement. "Welcome to our nation's capital, Qing Bao and Bao Li.  We are so excited for everyone to once again enjoy the adventures of giant pandas at our @NationalZoo."

The post also included a link to the video released in May by the National Zoo, the Smithsonian Institution and the White House, which first announced the pandas' return.

Hours after they arrived in D.C., the National Zoo shared some footage of the new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, adjusting to their enclosure.⁠

Bao Li seemed at ease in the new space, quickly walking out of his FedEx crate and into the indoor space at the zoo. Video also shows him munching on bamboo.

Qing Bao seemed more hesitant, taking her time with each step out of the crate and around a small pool of water in the enclosure. What seemed like nervousness at a new environment could also have been jetlag, as video also showed her yawning.

Watch them explore their new enclosure and adjust to a brand-new life in the United States.⁠

He's not technically a D.C. native, but he's close!

Here's a catch up on the D.C. connections of giant panda Bao Li's extended family.

Bao Li's maternal grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, arrived at the National Zoo in 2000 and lived there for nearly a quarter-century.

Over the years, they welcomed the zoo's first-ever surviving panda cubs. That includes Bao Li's mother, Bao Bao, who was born at the National Zoo in 2013.

The National Zoo has just dropped the first look of pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao checking out their new digs off Connecticut Avenue NW. Take a look:

Smithsonian's National Zoo

Smithsonian's National Zoo

Smithsonian's National Zoo

Last fall, the question was: Will D.C. ever get pandas again? The answer came in May: Yes!

After that, the question was: When will D.C.'s new pandas arrive? That answer came yesterday: Today!

Now that pair of 3-year-old giant pandas is settling in at the National Zoo, here are quick answers to some of your most pressing next round of questions:

When can you visit the pandas?

Starting in January. Zoo members will get a preview from Jan. 10-19. The new pandas will make their public debut Jan. 24.

Those outside the District -- and even some of those inside it -- might think all this excitement about pandas returning to the National Zoo is a bit much.

But D.C. has always loved its pandas. So have visitors to D.C. from all around the United States.

There aren't many places to see these roly-poly creatures in person in the U.S., these days. The arrival of Bao Li and Qing Bao makes the National Zoo the third American zoo pandas call home, with others in Atlanta and San Diego.

New National Zoo pandas is also a good sign when it comes to diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China.

The return of the bears matters, because last November, the bears leaving mattered.

Last fall, panda fans were dispirited when the National Zoo's last three pandas left for China. And while we all knew that seeing FedEx's Panda Express trucks pulling away from the zoo gates would be crushing enough, another shock came minutes before that — as the zoo's longstanding panda cam finally went dark.

Now, with Bao Li and Qing Bao's arrival at the National Zoo today, we have a lot to forward to. And that includes the relaunch of the panda cam.

The zoo says the panda cam is expected to return after the pandas make their official public debut Jan. 24, "ensuring virtual visitors can join in the celebration and welcome these animal ambassadors to Washington."

The panda cam is actually a system of 40 cameras, operated from a central system by specially trained volunteers. As part of upgrades ahead of the new pandas' arrival, all cameras, the three console machines and the monitors in the cam operating room have been replaced, the zoo said.

Once the panda cam goes live again, it will stream daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. During the off hours, that day’s recording will be rebroadcast "to ensure virtual visitors around the world can view the animals at their most active," the zoo said.

Getting the pandas into the National Zoo's habitat is no easy task. Zoo staff have to lift the crates using heavy machinery and (slowly) truck them down a brick path to the panda exhibit.

The Smithsonian just released new images of the pandas being moved from the FedEx Panda Express trucks to the habitat.

The National Zoo is closed Tuesday because of the panda move-in.

Since 2000, FedEx has transported 22 pandas to and from China, the freight carrier says.

Here's a list of trips via FedEx:

• 2023: from USA to China
• 2023: from USA to China
• 2019: from USA to China
• 2017: from USA to China
• 2013: from China to Canada
• 2012: from China to France
• 2011: from China to Scotland
• 2010: from USA to China
• 2003: from China to USA
• 2000: from China to USA

Panda-monium! D.C.'s two newest residents are settling into their new home at the National Zoo.

Bao Li and Qing Bao were welcomed outside the zoo's gates by a crowd of fans who clapped and cheered as the two Panda Express trucks arrived from Dulles International Airport.

Until today, the National Zoo's panda habitat went without residents for nearly a year — but it certainly didn't stay quiet or empty for long. In fact, renovations began almost immediately after the previous pandas left, in hopes that new pandas wouldn't be far behind.

And now, they're here!

In the interim, the zoo says it updated both the indoor and outdoor habitats to improve safety and to maximize space for the pandas to roam.

The new pandas will make their public debut in January, the National Zoo said.

The public debut will be on Jan. 24.

Members will get a preview from Jan. 10-19.

The National Zoo requires visitors to get free, timed passes. They typically become available four weeks in advance.

Bao Li's D.C. roots go deep: He's a third-generation Washingtonian!

His grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, lived at the National Zoo for nearly a quarter-century and welcomed the zoo's first-ever surviving panda cubs. The first arrived in 2005, but years went by before another was born, and that lived for just a week.

The following year, in 2013, 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.

There were more than just two panda bears inside FedEx's facility at Dulles on Tuesday. Well, sort of. FedEx set up a table of stuffed pandas not far from where the real bears were welcomed. FedEx has long been involved in transporting the giant pandas to and from the United States.

D.C.’s new panda residents got a very warm welcome as they entered the National Zoo for the first time.

Crowds gathered near the zoo’s entrance on Connecticut Avenue NW started cheering when they saw panda-marked FedEx trucks pulling up.

Some people traveled great distances to greet the pandas, while others found the waiting crowd while on a walk.

Yael Krigman, who sells panda-shaped cake pops at the Baked by Yael bakery across from the zoo, said the pandas' arrival is a big deal for the whole neighborhood.

An audience of panda fans who were anxiously waiting outside the National Zoo clapped and cheered as the two Panda Express trucks arrived to the zoo's gates after the journey from Dulles International Airport.

Now that the pandas are back, when's the best time to visit them? According to News4's Eun Yang and Tommy McFly, you'll get the most out of your visit in the colder months.

When visiting the pandas, go in the morning when the zoo first opens. December and January are great times to go since the furry bears love the cold.

There is no set date for when the public can visit the new residents of D.C. as the pandas go through their 30-day quarantine period. When the panda exhibit is open again, make sure to get a free daily entry ticket to guarantee your entry.

In the meantime, here are some travel tips to get to the Zoo.

Parking and traveling by Metro

Bao Li and Qing Bao rolled into the Smithsonian National Zoo along Connecticut Avenue at 11:36 a.m. Tuesday in their special FedEx trucks.

And as the panda-monium buzz builds, no one is more excited than the zookeepers and conservation biologists, like Melissa Songer, that work with the pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Songer, who works at the Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, has been studying pandas in the wild for years.

"There has been a steady increase in the amount of protected area for giant pandas," Songer said. "There has been an increase in the connectivity of their different habitats, of their different population. Rather than being on the endangered species list, they are now considered vulnerable, so they have improved their conservation status."

It also shows scientists the differences between pandas in the wild and pandas in a zoo setting.

District residents and zoo visitors alike are very excited to meet Bao Li and Qing Bao, Tommy McFly found out.

If you see a FedEx truck with a giant panda decal on the site around D.C. on Tuesday, you might be watching the pandas heading to their new home at the National Zoo.

Two FedEx trucks left Dulles International Airport accompanied by a motorcade that includes police on motorcycles.

Crews at Dulles carefully unloaded the crates carrying Qing Bao and Bao Li off of the Panda Express plane and onto the tarmac.

Watch News4's Joseph Olmo's report from the airport as the crates came off of the plane.

The giant pandas' ride to the National Zoo from the Washington Dulles International Airport will take about 40 minutes. It's about a 25 mile drive — depending on the route.

It's been nearly a year since the National Zoo's panda habitat last had residents — but the public will have to wait a bit longer to visit its new residents.

Bao Li and Qing Bao have landed at Dulles following a 16-hour flight aboard FedEx's special Panda Express plane. Still inside their special crates, they'll be driven to their new home at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Woodley Park.

They are expected to be quarantined for at least 30 days and will also need to get settled in and acclimated to their new surroundings before the panda exhibit reopens to the public.

There's no exact date set yet for that.

However, we know that at the San Diego Zoo — which received its own new set of pandas earlier this year — 42 days elapsed between the pandas' arrival and their public debut. A similar time frame from today would be about Nov. 26, but again, no date for D.C.'s pandas' debut has been set.

D.C.'s new giant pandas have landed at Dulles International Airport. They'll be unloaded here from their special FedEx plane, known as the Panda Express, following their 16-hour journey from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

Inside their special crates, the pandas will be driven from the Northern Virginia airport southeast to Washington, D.C, to their new home at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.

The zoo is closed today so keepers can safely welcome Bao Li and Qing Bao to their new home.

Pandas first arrived at the National Zoo in the 1970s and evolved into D.C.'s unofficial mascots. The black-and-white bears appeared on Metro farecards and street signs and as statues around the District.

1972-1990s: Hsing-Hsing & Ling-Ling become DC's first pandas

The National Zoo's first pair of giant pandas, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, were gifts to the United States from China following President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the country.

They landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and were officially presented to the zoo on April 20, 1972.

Over the years, they had five cubs, but none survived.

Qing Bao and Bao Li are getting first-class treatment on their flight from China to the United States.

The FedEx Panda Express is outfitted with plenty of food, including bamboo and steamed cornbread, plus medicine. Zookeepers joined pandas on the flight, which was expected to take more than 16 hours.

The Boeing 777-Freighter has a giant panda decal at the front.

It stopped in Anchorage, Alaska, to refuel on its route between China and Northern Virginia.

FedEx's Panda Express plane left China from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport on Monday afternoon before heading to Anchorage, Alaska, to refuel.

You can track their progress to Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia via the Flight Aware plane tracker.

The trek from China to Dulles was expected to take 16 hours. Despite the long journey, the giant pandas are having a comfortable ride complete with cornbread and bamboo.

Qing Bao (ching-BOW), whose name means "green" and "treasure," was born Sept. 12, 2021, and lived at the Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan.

“She is a star,” Chinese ambassador Xie Feng said at a press conference back in May.

Qing Bao was made the ambassador of the ninth World Wildlife Day when she was a year old.

Her favorite foods are apples and carrots, a former keeper told CNN.

Bao Li has never been to D.C. before ... but many of his relatives were longtime residents. His mother, Bao Bao, was born at the National Zoo in 2013 before moving to China a few years later.

Bao Li's grandparents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, lived at the zoo for nearly a quarter-century before moving to China last fall. They raised four surviving cubs, all of whom moved to China when they were a few years old. Now one of their descendants is making the long trek to D.C.

“The pandas' arrival is not just an exciting event, but it’s proof positive of the success of our giant panda program,” National Zoo director Brandie Smith said when the plan was announced in May.

Bao Li, whose name means "treasure" and "energetic" in Mandarin Chinese, was born Aug. 4, 2021, making him 3 years old. He previously lived at the Shenshuping Base in Wolong, China.