ILLUSTRATION BY: LINSEY BROOKFIELD/THE HOYA | The Smithsonian National Zoo's giant panda exhibit opens to the public for the first time Jan. 24.
The new giant pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo will be available for free public viewing starting Jan. 24.
The two pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at the zoo in October 2024 as part of a 10-year breeding and research agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. Signed May 1, 2024, and announced May 29, 2024, the agreement states that the zoo will pay a fee of $1 million annually for the bears, conduct breeding efforts and move any newly-born cubs to China by age four.
Over the next decade, Smithsonian scientists will also work with partners in China to research topics including rehabilitating the giant panda’s habitat, studying wildlife diseases and evaluating impacts of climate change.
After Bao Li and Qing Bao arrived in October, they were quarantined for 30 days and monitored to prevent potential disease spread. They were also given an adjustment period as they settled into their routines and as the staff familiarized themselves with the pandas’ behavior.
From Jan. 10 to 19, National Zoo members were invited to preview the bears, helping them acclimate to human contact.
Sophia Gaxiola (SOH ’25), a student who attended the panda preview, said she was excited to see the exhibit for the first time.
“Growing up in San Diego, I always loved visiting the panda exhibit at the zoo, so my boyfriend and I were really excited to see the debut of the new panda exhibit at the Smithsonian Zoo on January 10th,” Gaxiola wrote to The Hoya. “It was such a special experience, especially getting to see the pandas eat and play in the snow. It was something I’d never seen before!”
The giant pandas also promote protection of the vast number of other species that reside in the same habitat, like multicolored pheasants or golden monkeys. Pandas are an ideal “umbrella species,” as efforts to conserve their home forests benefit other animals as well. Pandas also play a direct role in sustaining China’s bamboo forests by dispersing seeds, which supports the growth of this critical habitat. Bamboo also releases more clean air than other types of trees, underscoring how pandas are helping fight climate change.
Despite conservation efforts, the species is still at risk for extinction. In the 1980s, there were as few as 1,114 pandas in the wild, but a 2014 survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that number to have increased to 1,864 pandas.
Breeding is a crucial part of conservation efforts. Female giant pandas have a very brief ovulation window, meaning that there are only a few days per year during which they are able to conceive. The zoo has primarily relied on artificial insemination during ovulation, successfully producing four surviving panda cubs since the program began.
When China first gifted pandas Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing to the United States in 1972, it came as a sign of stabilized China-U.S. relations after then-President Richard Nixon’s historic visit, ending 25 years of hostility between the countries. Dennis Wilder, senior fellow at the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, explained that the phenomenon known as “panda diplomacy” has ebbed and flowed, reflecting uncertain relations.
After U.S. military fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the Atlantic Ocean in February 2023, China paused negotiations with the Smithsonian for new pandas. In October 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s visit to China fostered goodwill between the nations, and negotiations for new pandas for both the San Diego Zoo and Smithsonian National Zoo resumed.
Lonnie Bunch, secretary of the Smithsonian, said the pandas represent a history of successful conservation and optimism for future efforts.
“Giant pandas simply bring us together,” Bunch said in a promotional video. “They show us that collaboration, conservation, education and simple joy can save wildlife and ecosystems.”
From the combined perspectives of public affection, conservation efforts and international relations, the arrival of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao may be a “giant” development.
Wilder said the giant pandas represent China’s soft power — a less tangible, more organic diplomacy tool, adding that China recognizes the deal’s financial draw and the pandas’ popularity with the public.
“They’re simply magnetic,” Wilder told The Hoya. “In that sense, they are tremendous sources of goodwill for China and are a symbol of positive U.S.-China relations.”