A pair of giant pandas eagerly awaited in Washington began their hours-long journey to the US capital on Monday, the Chinese conservation organization said.

The male panda, Bao Li, and the female, Ching Bao, both aged 3, are traveling in separate cages with significant supplies of bamboo for their journey, according to the China Wildlife Conservation Association and images released by the American news network CNN.

The two VIP (Very Important Pandas) travel by special plane, under constant monitoring by a team of veterinarians from Washington.

The reception of the two mammals carrying heavy diplomatic symbolism later today in Washington is expected to receive extensive media coverage.

The “always-ambassador”

The announcement of the future arrival of Bao Li and Qing Bao was made in late May by US First Lady Jill Biden and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Washington’s National Zoo.

In this zoo, the American public will be able to enjoy the two “panda ambassadors” in a few weeks, once they have spent a period of quarantine and adaptation to the air of the American capital, which for almost a year has not had any giant pandas on its territory.

Three pandas previously hosted in Washington returned to China in November 2023. Their departure, after a loan agreement expired, was widely seen as reflecting tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The first time a pair of pandas was offered from Beijing to the US was in 1972, following then US President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Communist China under Mao Zedong.