WASHINGTON (Gray News) – Two new furry residents are ready to make their mark at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Giant Pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao made their public debut at the zoo on Friday.
Brandie Smith, the zoo’s director, was there to open the gates to the renovated panda house, along with Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the United States.
“Washington, D.C. is no longer ‘unbearable’ and I believe all of you can ‘barely’ wait to see them,” Feng said during the event.
The 3-year-old pandas arrived in Washington last October, as part of a new 10-year deal with Chinese authorities.
The zoo had been panda-less for nearly 11 months before their arrival, having sent their popular trio, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, back to China at the end of the previous agreement.
“Our shared love for pandas has deepened my conviction that China and the United States have much more in common than what divides us,” Feng said.
Officials said the National Zoo is the only place in the world where the general public can see giant pandas for free. The zoo also debuted the “Giant Panda Cam,” a live stream of the panda’s enclosure that is active each day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.