10 Things to Know About the Pandas at the National Zoo
When I was a kid growing up in the Washington, D.C., area, it was always a big treat to visit the National Zoo pandas , Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, on school field trips or with my parents. This was back in the ’80s, and the pair were the original giant pandas gifted to President Richard Nixon as part of what has become known as “panda diplomacy.” Flash-forward to 2018, and it was my turn to introduce my two kids to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the giant pandas that China loaned to the United States shortly after the passing of the original pair. We all watched as the black-and-white cuddly bears, along with their cub, Bei-Bei, munched on bamboowith the same delight I remember experiencing as a child. (That’s a photo, above, of one of the three pandas we saw that day.) When it was announced in 2023 that the loan was ending and the three pandas would be returned, I had hoped to get in one more visit. Unfortunately, China reclaimed them quicker than I had expected, and we missed our chance.