--- description: Bao Bao, one of the National Zoo's prized giant pandas, has officially left Washington D.C. for a new home in Chengdu, China. title: The National Zoo's Giant Panda, Bao Bao, Has Left for China image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72c441108d1e08a0/6988bb4b196cf4dbb803ef64/panda.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The National Zoo's Giant Panda, Bao Bao, Has Left for China by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2017 11:30 PM CUT  Bao Bao, the beloved 3-year-old panda at the National Zoo, enjoys a final morning in her bamboo-filled habitat before her one-way flight to China to join a panda breeding program, on Feb. 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Bao Bao, the beloved 3-year-old panda at the National Zoo, enjoys a final morning in her bamboo-filled habitat before her one-way flight to China to join a panda breeding program, on Feb. 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C.J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 21, 2017 11:30 PM CUT Bao Bao, one of the National Zoo’s [prized giant pandas](http://time.com/4272091/panda-bath-national-zoo/ "undefined"), has officially left Washington D.C. for a new home in China. The 3-year-old panda was on a flight from Dulles International Airport in Virginia to the city of Chengdu, China on Tuesday afternoon. The move is part of a cooperative breeding program between the National Zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association that mandates all cubs born in the U.S. must transfer to China before the age of four. Numerous visitors were at the airport to see Bao Bao off. The panda has been [quite popular](http://time.com/3656397/bao-bao-panda-first-snow-heart-melt/ "undefined") since her birth at the zoo back in August 2013, with former First Lady Michelle Obama even recording a [message of congratulations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GixnXiw-QLI "undefined") following Bao Bao’s official naming. “Everyone here at the zoo, the millions of people at the zoo and the millions more on the webcams around the world are all going to miss her tremendously,” Brandie Smith, associate director of Animal Care Sciences, [told ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/US/bao-bao-panda-leave-dc-today/story?id=45614507 "undefined"). Conservation action, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has positively impacted the declining numbers of pandas. In fact, the IUCN [upgraded](http://iucnworldconservationcongress.org/news/20160904/article/four-out-six-great-apes-one-step-away-extinction-iucn-red-list "undefined") the animal’s status from endangered to “vulnerable” in September 2016. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4678024/bao-bao-leaving-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4678024/bao-bao-leaving-china/"},"headline":"The National Zoo's Giant Panda, Bao Bao, Has Left for China","datePublished":"2017-02-21T23:30:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:27:01.554Z","description":"The 3-year-old cub was popular in Washington","url":"https://time.com/4678024/bao-bao-leaving-china/","keywords":["onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72c441108d1e08a0/6988bb4b196cf4dbb803ef64/panda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72c441108d1e08a0/6988bb4b196cf4dbb803ef64/panda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bao Bao","caption":"Bao Bao, the beloved 3-year-old panda at the National Zoo, enjoys a final morning in her bamboo-filled habitat before her one-way flight to China to join a panda breeding program, on Feb. 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C.","creditText":"J. 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