Giant panda habitat opens at California zoo to much fanfare

Panda bear Xin Bao eats in the Panda Ridge enclosure at San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California, US, August 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Two Chinese giant pandas are now California residents as their enclosure at the San Diego Zoo opened to the public on Thursday in an international ceremony.

The pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, are the first to enter the United States in 21 years and were welcomed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Chinese ambassador to the United States Xie Feng.

Yun Chuan, a 5-year-old male is easily recognized by his long, slightly pointed nose, while Xin Bao is a 4-year-old female with big fluffy ears whose name means a "precious treasure of prosperity and abundance."

Yun Chuan's name means "big river of cloud." His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007.

The zoo is working closely with Chinese experts to help with the adaptation period and understanding of the needs of the two pandas. The pair are enjoying a variety of fresh bamboo and a local adaptation of "wotou", a traditional Chinese steamed corn bread that's also called "panda bread".

"The arrival of Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, as we celebrate the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, has sent a clear and important message," said Ambassador Xie Feng.

"China-US cooperation on panda conservation will not cease. Our people to people exchanges and sub-national cooperation will not stop and once opened, the door of China-U.S. friendship will not be shut again."

Newsom said the new pandas were about "celebrating our common humanity. It's about celebrating the things that bind us together."

"And so, for me, this spirit of pride that is associated with this opening today with the experience that so many will have, that we just had at Panda Ridge, is about a deeper meaning," Newsom added.

Visitors of all ages to Panda Ridge on Thursday were exuberant about the pandas' cuteness.

"I have never seen a panda before, I've only seen them on TV and nature documentaries," said Kobi Davis from Michigan. "They are super cute. They just kind of laze around, you know, there's charm in that."

Keena Butcher from Canada called them "quiet, thoughtful creatures and just realize we can have hope for our future if we can conserve them."

China's Communist government has long used "panda diplomacy" to enhance the country's soft power, lending the large but cuddly-looking black-and-white bears to zoos in various countries over the decades as goodwill animal ambassadors.

In late 2023, Washington's National Zoo said goodbye to its beloved giant pandas, which were returned to China amid heightened tensions between the two global superpowers.

In May this year, the National Zoo said China would send two young pandas to Washington by the end of the year.