Family tree of panda diplomacy: here are all the pairs lent to the United States by China
China first gifted giant pandas to the United States in 1972. They are now on loan to American zoos.
NEW YORK —
Zoo Atlanta welcomes two new Chinese residents.
Giant pandas Fu Shuang, a female panda, and Ping Ping, a male panda, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday aboard the FedEx Panda Express. This is the third pair of giant pandas loaned to the United States by China in a diplomatic capacity in the past two years.
These pandas were sent a day after President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit.
China first gifted pandas to the United States in 1972, following President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing. First Lady Patricia Nixon mentioned her fondness for giant pandas to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, and so two giant pandas were gifted to the American people as a form of diplomacy.
Since then, the Chinese government has loaned pandas to U.S. zoos in exchange for a base annual fee of $1 million for research and conservation.
The Get the Facts Data team reviewed reports from the National Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Memphis Zoo and Zoo Atlanta and created a family tree from the pairs of giant pandas on loan to the United States. This does not include short-term exhibition loans, such as the giant pandas loaned for the 1984 Olympics.
Nine pairs of giant pandas have been introduced into the country since 1972, and around 25 cubs have been born on American soil. Of these cubs, eight did not survive.
Panda cubs are traditionally named around 100 days after birth. Unnamed cubs have died before their naming ceremony.
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