Two giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3 years old, have made their way from China to Washington, D.C., marking a significant event as the US capital welcomes new furry diplomats from Beijing after 24 years. The pandas arrived at Washington Dulles Airport on a FedEx cargo plane named 'Panda Express' on Tuesday morning.
These pandas are on loan to the Smithsonian's National Zoo for a period of 10 years, with an annual fee of $1 million to support conservation efforts in China. The previous pair of pandas at the zoo returned to China last November, leaving the panda exhibit empty for 11 months.