Washington's Pandas Are Returning to China Via FedEx

Three pandas from DC National Zoo flying to Chengdu via Alaska
Departures mark an apparent end of ‘Panda Diplomacy’ with US

The Panda Express carries Giant Pandas from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo at Dulles International Airport on Nov. 8.Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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By Ramsey Al-Rikabi

November 8, 2023 at 6:33 PM UTC

Updated on

November 9, 2023 at 1:49 AM UTC

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The beloved giant pandas at Washington, DC’s National Zoo started their journey back to China on Wednesday, crated up and loaded into a special “Panda Express” FedEx Corp. flight to Chengdu.

Washington’s three pandas — Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji — are among others at zoos in Atlanta, San Diego and Memphis also heading to China as an era of “Panda Diplomacy” with the US appears to be ending.