Giant pandas on the way to D.C.'s National Zoo
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The "Panda Express" last year at Dulles. Photo: Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images
It's finally happening: Giant pandas are coming back to D.C.
Why it matters: Washington was collectively unwell after the National Zoo's pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, returned to China last November. But now we are getting our cuddly mascots back.
Driving the news: Two pandas — a three-year-old male named Bao Li and and a three-year-old female called Qing Bao — were en route to the National Zoo from China as of Monday, CNN reports.
- The duo will be on loan to the Smithsonian for a decade, with a yearly fee of $1 million that will go to support Chinese panda conservation efforts.
State of play: The zoo had been quiet as far as the bears' exact arrival. But a FedEx cargo jet from Chengdu, China, is set to arrive at Dulles Tuesday morning, the Washington Post reports.
- Our new panda friends are being transported via the "Panda Express," aka a FedEx Boeing 777. The VIP critters are escorted by zookeepers and veterinarians, and their in-flight munchies will include Chinese cornbread, bamboo shoots and carrots, per the Post.
- Meanwhile, the zoo announced it would be closed Tuesday as "something giant" arrived. But it declined to give any additional details to protect "the safety of the pandas and staff."
Yes, but: Don't break out your panda swag just yet. It'll still be several weeks before visitors can see the bears.
- They'll need at least 30 days of quarantine after they arrive, then likely a little more time to get used to their new digs.
And speaking of digs, the bears are coming home to a revamped panda house in the midst of the National Zoo's $25 million push to support its giant panda program.
- Inside the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, they'll find upgrades like a new "hammock" made of fire hose strips, murals showing mountain landscapes and fresh climbing areas.
- Plus: 40 new Pandacam cameras for all the panda-heads out there.
The intrigue: Bao Li is something of a DMV boy: His mother is Bao Bao, who was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and returned to China a few years later.
- His grandparents are Tian Tian and Mei Xiang.
Catch up quick: News of the impending "pandamonium" first dropped in May, when Smithsonian officials and first lady Jill Biden announced the bears would be returning to Washington.
- The furry duo's' arrival comes amid concern in recent years that "panda diplomacy" between China and the U.S. could be in peril due to tense relations between the two countries.
What we're watching: While reproduction is less of an emphasis with this duo than past pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao were picked because they're a promising genetic match — meaning we could eventually see some D.C. panda babies.
- Per the current agreement, any panda cubs born in the U.S. must be returned to China by age 4.