On November 8, Minister Xu Xueyuan of the Chinese Embassy in the United States went to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for “Mei Xiang”, “Tian Tian”and “Xiao Qiji”’s departure for China.

Accompanied by Ms. Brandie Smith, the Zoo’s Director, Minister Xu watched the whole process of the giant pandas departing the Zoo: after a hearty breakfast, the giant pandas entered their individual, custom travel crate, which they have been acclimated over the past few weeks. They were then carefully loaded onto the trucks driving towards the Dulles International Airport. There, the three giant pandas will board a dedicated plane and fly back to China.

In her remarks, Minister Xu expressed thanks to the Zoo’s giant panda team for the efforts on giant panda conservation and reproduction. Xu noted the fruitful collaboration between China and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo since 2000. A lot has been accomplished ever since on breeding, disease prevention and public education. Such collaboration has played an important role in bringing closer the Chinese and American peoples.

Xu mentioned that “Mei Xiang” and “Tian Tian” have lived under the loving care of their professional keepers over the past 23 years. Their four cubs, "Tai Shan", "Bao Bao", "Bei Bei" and "Xiao Qiji", have delighted millions of visitors in the U.S. and beyond, letting people know more about giant pandas and becoming star attractions at the National Zoo.

Xu said that Giant pandas belong to China as well as the world. China will continue to work closely with cooperation partners, including the United States, on the conservation and research of endangered species and biodiversity protection. It is ready to make greater contributions to the sustainable development of this Planet and the friendship between people of all countries.

Embassy staff members, joined by people from the media and other sectors in the U.S., went to the airport to say goodbye to the giant pandas.