Qing Bao, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas, eats an apple on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. In November 2023, the National Zoo sent its three pandas — Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who had lived there since 2000, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — back to China, in advance of the expiration of their loan agreement and amidst rising tensions between the two countries.
A panda drought — that has been unbearable for some — is finally over.
Two Giant pandas are now available for public viewing in the nation's capital.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are out of quarantine and in the spotlight after a three month wait and 8,000 mile trip from China.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, second from right, claps to the sounds of Crush Funk Brass Band during the opening ceremony celebrating the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
They now stand — or clumsily climb or roll around — and are ready to make their public debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Their return, after China recalled earlier furry ambassadors, marks a reboot of Panda diplomacy.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Bao Li, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas, chomps on bamboo on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
For those who can't come to D.C., the panoply of panda antics is on digital display via the the Giant Panda Cam.
People were bamboozled by the roly-poly big-eyed cuteness — such clips have drawn in millions of viewers.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Scientists and volunteers observe panda behavior from inside the Smithsonian National Zoo's Panda House on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant panda Bao Li traverses a snowy enclosure on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The pair arrived in Washington D.C. — aboard the fittingly nicknamed "Panda Express" — from China back in October. But, they could only occasionally be glimpsed until this week.
China has also loaned two other giant pandas to the U.S., both at the San Diego Zoo. As a gesture of goodwill, it seems panda appeal is pretty black and white.
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages. Officers claimed he ran into a wall, but medical staff doubted that account.
A collapsed sewer line, about 8 miles from the White House, pumped 368 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of wastewater into the Potomac. Repairs could take longer than previously expected.
Amid an ongoing standoff between Harvard and the White House, the Defense Department said it plans to cut ties with the Ivy League — ending military training, fellowships and certificate programs.
In the first electoral temperature check in Minnesota since President Trump launched Operation Metro Surge to ramp up immigration enforcement in the state, voters had a lot to say.
You make NHPR possible.
NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.
Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.
