--- title: What We Know About Giant Pandas Arriving in the U.S. description: Four giant pandas will be coming to two U.S. zoos later this year. canonical: https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-05-31T01:24:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:42:18.914Z article:section: Science og:title: Everything We Know About the Giant Pandas Coming to the U.S. og:description: Four giant pandas will be coming to two U.S. zoos later this year. og:url: https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdae456ca81c271a5/698a5771cabb1d1e5de54334/Pandas-US-Zoos.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Giant pandas - Washington, DC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Everything We Know About the Giant Pandas Coming to the U.S. twitter:description: Four giant pandas will be coming to two U.S. zoos later this year. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdae456ca81c271a5/698a5771cabb1d1e5de54334/Pandas-US-Zoos.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Coming to America: What We Know About Giant Pandas Arriving in the U.S. > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter May 31, 2024 1:24 AM UTC  Giant panda, Xiao Qi Ji, is seen in his enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, 2023\. The pandas were sent back to China in November 2023. Giant panda, Xiao Qi Ji, is seen in his enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 22, 2023\. The pandas were sent back to China in November 2023. Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter May 31, 2024 1:24 AM UTC Four giant pandas will be coming to two U.S. zoos later this year, an announcement that comes after three beloved bears in the nation’s capital were [returned](https://apnews.com/article/giant-pandas-china-national-zoo-b5923fc76613a15ade02fd332e1330df) to China last November. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute announced Wednesday that two giant pandas will be coming to the zoo by the end of 2024\. And in April, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced that it will also be getting two giant pandas this summer. Here’s what we know about the pandas that are coming to the U.S. **Who are the pandas coming to D.C.?** The National Zoo will be welcoming two new pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, as part of its conservation partnership with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The zoo announced the news in a video posted on X with the U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and zoo officials. “For more than 50 years, the zoo’s pandas have brought joy to everyone who has seen them and are one of our biggest conservation success stories,” Brandie Smith, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Zoo, said in the video. “It’s especially meaningful to have them at the National Zoo, where people can visit the pandas in person for free or watch them on the panda cam with millions of people across the globe,” Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III said in the video. > [](https://twitter.com/nationalzoo/status/1795786127074328954?s=46&t=W7u5gKWKVzecevpKuyrQGw) Bao Li is a male panda, born on Aug. 4, 2021\. In Mandarin, “Bao” means “precious” and “treasure,” and “Li” refers to vitality and strength. His name means an active and vital power, according to the [zoo’s website](https://nationalzoo.si.edu/dcpandas). Qing Bao is a female panda, born on Sept. 12, 2021\. In Mandarin, her name means “green” and “treasure,” the zoo said on its website. “We can’t wait to celebrate this historic moment here in our nation’s capital,” the First Lady said in the video. “It’s official! The pandas are coming back to D.C.!” **Read More:** [_The National Zoo’s Giant Panda, Bao Bao, Has Left for China_](https://time.com/4678024/bao-bao-leaving-china/) **Who are the pandas coming to San Diego?** The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced on April 29 that its conservation and care team leaders had recently visited China for a meeting with conservation partners from the China Wildlife Conservation Association. While there, they met the two bears, named Yun Chuan and Xin Bao. Yun Chuan is nearly five years old, and is a male panda. Officials said in a [press release](https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/PR/2024-panda-pair-announcement) that he is “mild-mannered, gentle and lovable.” His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007\. Zhen Zhen was returned to China in 2010, according to [NBC San Diego](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/timeline-giant-pandas-at-san-diego-zoo/3503904/). Yun Chuan is named partly after his grandmother, Bai Yun, who lived at the San Diego Zoo for 23 years. Bai Yun was returned to China in 2019, according to [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2024/02/22/1233090129/china-pandas-san-diego-zoo). The second character of his name, “Chuan,” is a reference to his home province of Sichuan, China. Xin Bao is a female panda who is almost four years old. She was born in Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan. Officials said she is “a gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears.” Her name means “a new treasure of prosperity and abundance,” according to the zoo’s press release. “It was an honor to see Yun Chuan and Xin Bao in person and meet our conservation partners caring for them at the Wolong and Bifengxia Panda Bases,” Dr. Megan Owen, vice president of conservation science at the San Diego Zoo, said in the press release. “Yun Chuan’s lineage has deep connections to the San Diego Zoo and we’re excited by the prospect of caring for them.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/"},"headline":"Coming to America: What We Know About Giant Pandas Arriving in the U.S.","datePublished":"2024-05-31T01:24:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:42:18.914Z","description":"Four giant pandas will be coming to two U.S. zoos later this year.","url":"https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/","keywords":["animals","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdae456ca81c271a5/698a5771cabb1d1e5de54334/Pandas-US-Zoos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdae456ca81c271a5/698a5771cabb1d1e5de54334/Pandas-US-Zoos.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Giant pandas - Washington, DC","caption":"Giant pandas - Washington, DC","creditText":"Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6984177/pandas-usa-zoos-china/","name":"Coming to America: What We Know About Giant Pandas Arriving in the U.S."}}]}] ```