The Smithsonian National Zoo, located in Washington DC, posted a video of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao having fun in the snow while the city was covered in a winter storm on Monday (6).
The panda couple will make their public debut on Friday, January 24th.
China sent the pandas as part of a campaign with US government authorities, with the aim of warming relations between the two superpowers.
The announcement was made following increased engagement between Washington and Beijing, which has placed ties between the two countries at the most stable level since relations reached historically low levels in 2023.
Bao Li is a two-year-old male. Her mother was born at the institute in 2013 and her grandparents, Tian and Mei Xiang, lived there from 2000 to 2023. Qing Bao is a two-year-old female daughter of Qing Qing and her mother, Jia Mei.
The zoo returned three other giant pandas – two adults and their cub – that were on loan from China.
Winter storm in Washington
and the eastern US on Monday, cutting power, canceling flights and causing traffic accidents in its final days.
The storm left several inches of snow over a path of approximately 2100 kilometers.
The worst part of the snowfall has passed, and only some snow and rain continue overnight in parts of the east of the country.
