Nestled between leafy strips of bamboo lies the entrance to the Asia Trail. As visitors peruse the expansive enclosures, they can find red pandas, clouded leopards, sloth bears and more. But over the past few months, all attention has shifted exclusively to one species: the giant pandas. More than 300 pairs of eyes gaze over the gated panda enclosure, and gasps ring through the crowd as a black and white figure emerges from behind the branches.

At another branch of the zoo, visitors at panda-related festivities celebrate the outgoing animals. Along the Omsled Walk, a Giant Panda Art Gallery is open for guests to view recent artwork created by the pandas. Near the Great Meadow Stage, zoo employees have set up a face painting station where a staff member is drawing a panda face on a little girl. In the Visitor Center Theater, employees prepare for the showings of “Kung-Fu Panda” and “The Miracle Panda” scheduled for later in the day. 

For 51 years, pandas have been an integral part of Washington D.C.’s National Zoo. By Dec. 7, however, all of the pandas currently inhabiting the iconic zoo will return to their home in China.

In 2000, the National Zoo entered the Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The agreement entailed a $10 million payment to China in exchange for a panda couple — Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. It was renewed three times before ultimately expiring towards the end of 2023.

Ever since the arrival of the zoo’s second pair of pandas in 2000, people have been enamored by the pandas and their story. During their 23 years at the zoo, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian had a total of four panda cubs. The first, Tai Shan, was born on July 9, 2005. His departure from the zoo followed five years later when he left for the Wolong Nature Reserve in China on Feb. 4 to participate in breeding research. The second, Bao Bao, was born in 2013 and left for China four years later. The third, Bei Bei, was born only two years after Bao Bao. He was named “precious treasure” in Chinese by former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama and the First Lady of the People’s Republic of China Peng Liyuan as a way of celebrating the state visit and the birth of Mei Xiang’s third child. In 2019, he too departed for China. Mei Xiang’s fourth and final cub, Xiao Qi Ji, was born in 2020 and still lives at the National Zoo with his parents. 

From Sept. 23 to Oct. 1, the zoo hosted a multi-day celebration — the “Panda Palooza” — to commemorate the pandas’ time in D.C. and bid them farewell. With help from their sponsor Boeing, the zoo provided activities for visitors of all ages. The panda-related activities included a scavenger hunt throughout the zoo, a panda art station for children under five, morning yoga, panda movie showings, dance parties, live music and panda-themed arts and crafts. 

Christina Barrett first heard of Panda Palooza from a friend who had visited the previous day with her family. She didn’t need any more convincing, as her children had been particularly enamored with the pandas during their former trips to the zoo. 

“Last year we went to see the giant pandas and my youngest would put his face against the glass and pretend he was in there,” Barrett said. “We will always miss the pandas since they are such a big part of the zoo.” 

Barrett’s family is one of many who will miss the pandas dearly. Some visit the zoo to see them for the last time, while others visit the pandas to reminisce. For Iman Hasnani and Sam Le Blanc V, two juniors from Whitman, it was a mixture of both. Le Blanc lived in DC when he was younger, and he would visit the zoo multiple times with his family and school. For him, going back to the zoo was like reliving his past and he was excited to see the pandas again since he had very fond memories of them as a child. To share his love for the pandas, he brought Hasnani to the zoo, and she loved it. She recalls dancing to the live music and taking pictures with the panda cutouts. 

“We are both sad to see the pandas go, because they are kind of like a staple to the zoo,” Hasnani said. “And I’m especially sad to see them go because it’s my first and last time seeing them.”

The pandas’ presence doesn’t just impact the visitors’ experience, but the employees’ as well. As featured in a quote hanging in the Panda House — an indoor part of the Panda exhibit — Zookeeper Nicole MacCorkle created a special bond with one of the pandas, Mei Xiang, because of her gentle demeanor, intelligence and striking motherly instincts. 

“The devotion that she showed to each of her cubs over the years was second to none,” MacCorkle told the National Zoo. “It makes her stand out among not only the pandas but also all of the animals I have worked with over the past 28 years in this field.”

The Panda Palooza celebration is an opportunity for the zoo’s community of visitors, staff and volunteers to celebrate their long history with giant pandas and to say farewell to their beloved animals. Angela G, the daughter of a National Zoo volunteer, is very closely affiliated with these pandas through her late mother. She, like many others, will miss the pandas dearly. 

“When Tian and Mei go back to China,” she told the National Zoo, “a bit of my mom’s spirit, and a piece of my heart, will go with them.”

This story was originally published on The Black & White on October 5, 2023.