Great panda Qing Bao sat in a tree at the Smithsonian National Zoo on Jan. 24, taking a quick nap while spectators watched her every move. Even a small twitch in her paw would send spectators into a flurry, pulling out their phones to take zoomed-in videos and pictures.
Two giant pandas, Qing Bao and Bao Li, arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Oct. 15 after a flight aboard the “FedEx Panda Express” aircraft. They arrived about a year after three giant pandas that had become staples of the zoo returned to China after a contract between the U.S. and China expired. On Jan. 24, the general public laid eyes on Qing Bao and Bao Li for the first time since their arrival.
Visitors take photos and videos of the pandas. Photos by Allie Schlicht (left) and Yunji Yun (right).
Alexandra DeCandia, a biology professor at Georgetown, works as a research associate for the Center for Conservation and Genomics at the Smithsonian National Zoo. DeCandia said that staff at the zoo use the term “panda-monium” to describe how much people love these fluffy bears. She said that the pandas draw a lot of visitors.
“They really are one of the flagship species at the National Zoo,” DeCandia said.
It’s not just D.C. tourists who are excited about the pandas: many Georgetown students had also been counting down the days until their arrival.
“I’m so excited for the pandas to arrive in D.C., I’m going to see them the moment they arrive,” Hayden Giles (CAS ‘26) said a couple of days before the pandas arrived.
The pandas remind Giles of his childhood self.
“[They have] very low responsibilities, just always having fun and hanging out with each other,” Giles said.
Photo by Alisa Patel
Some Georgetown students, on the other hand, are not as excited that the pandas are back. Anya Markovitz (CAS ‘26) thinks that all the panda-monium can make some blind to their cultural value.
“I think it’s fun that D.C. gets so excited about it, and that it’s somewhat of a tradition, but I think that we’ve blown past the fact that the pandas shouldn’t even be here in the first place,” Markovitz said. “Why are we putting them on display in D.C. for our enjoyment when it has nothing to do with us, nothing to do with our culture or our appreciation of them?”
Other students referenced the panda’s political importance and showed their support for the bears’ arrival. Starting in the Tang Dynasty, from the seventh to 10th centuries, China has been practicing “panda diplomacy,” sending pandas to other countries as a sign of goodwill. Many have said that China agreeing to house the pandas at the National Zoo again could be a sign of a good relationship between the U.S. and China.
When Jill Biden announced that the pandas would be returning to the Smithsonian Zoo in May. 2024, the gesture suggested that the U.S.-China relationship was improving, which some Georgetown students were excited about.
“It has a lot of symbolic value that we got the pandas back,” Noah Rudick (MSB ’25) said.
“Panda diplomacy” has become a common term, as China has often given pandas to countries who they are on good terms with. China sent two pandas to Malaysia in 2014 in an effort to reduce tension between the two countries.
Whatever reason China has for sending the pandas to the U.S., there is no doubt that many people at Georgetown and D.C. adore them.
In 2023, 1.9 million people visited the National Zoo. Although it is unclear exactly how many of those people went to see the pandas, the growing number of businesses with themed panda merchandise shows how much people love these furry bears.
Panda merchandise on display at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Photos by Izzy Wagener.
“If you spend time observing the pandas, you will inevitably end up smiling. Everything they do seems joy-filled,” DeCandia said.
Photo by Alaena Hunt
