Asia-Pacific

Say goodbye to US-born pandas, with smiles

By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-06 08:36

WASHINGTON: Hundreds of photos were snapped yesterday by "Pandarazzi" who watched sorrowfully through their camera lenses as two VIPs (very important pandas) left the United States for their new home Sichuan.

Say goodbye to US-born pandas, with smiles

The departure of the two US-born pandas - the 4-year-old male, Tai Shan, born at the National zoo, and the 3-year-old female, Mei Lan, born in Zoo Atlanta - broke the hearts of millions of viewers who watched their send-off live online or via major US TV networks.

The "Panda Express", a custom-decaled FedEx 777 Freighter, would fly 14.5 hours nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean to send the two bears from Washington to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

Dozens of Americans who were lucky enough to be invited to the Washington Dulles International Airport to wave goodbye to Tai Shan, the Washington-born star, waited four hours in the cold, windy winter morning to catch the last glimpse of him.

Black and white were the colors of the day and the panda look was "in". Many people wore black-and-white coats and scarves, and carried panda-shaped purses. FedEx staffer Jason Preston even painted his face like a panda's.

"I saw Tai Shan soon after he was born here," Preston told China Daily. "All the FedEx people are very excited and we feel privileged to have the last look at him today."

Andrea Davis wore a pair of self-made paper panda ears to show her support for Tai Shan. "He is the biggest attraction of the National Zoo for sure. I hope he gets greener bamboo in his hometown and comes back to visit us," she said.

Six-year-old Jack Dougan has visited Tai Shan many times and said he was eager to share his airport experience with his classmates.

"I am not sad because I know he will live in the forest, and not a cage anymore," he said.

Hundreds of panda lovers, like Elise Ney, went to the zoo the day before the departure to spend the last day with their beloved bear. "We smiled and took tons of pictures and then cried a lot of tears when we had to leave him," she told China Daily.

"But we all know that he is a big boy now and needs to fulfill his destiny. He will make some panda girl very happy and will produce the most gorgeous cubs."

The Panda Unlimited member also hoped that a webcam could be a reality in China. The panda webcam at the National Zoo has had almost

15 million hits in the past five years, according to the zoo's website.

Zoo staff also announced that they are monitoring Tai Shan's mother, Mei Xiang, for indications that she is pregnant. They said they will negotiate for an extension for Mei Xiang and the father, Tian Tian, before the loan expires in December.

"In the past four years, Tai Shan has grown up with the blessing, love and care of the American people," Minister Xie Feng of the Chinese Embassy in the United States said during his speech at the airport on Friday.

"Tai Shan and Mei Lan are symbols of the China-US friendship," he said.

The spokesman for the US Department of State, Philip J. Crowley, also expressed his wish for Tai Shan at yesterday's press briefing.

"He is a dual citizen, US-born of Chinese parents. He'll always have a close link to the United States and to schoolchildren across our country. But he is a tangible and furry manifestation of cooperation between the United States and China."