SAN DIEGO (AP) — California’s governor flew in for the younger bears’ debut. Throngs of media gathered contained in the zoo, whereas the town of San Diego warned of site visitors jams forward of the much-anticipated occasion Thursday.

The San Diego Zoo rolled out the pink carpet for the primary public exhibiting of its superstar residents, who have been already wearing black-and-white apparel. The 2 large pandas have been seen sunbathing and chowing down on bamboo of their new residence because the first pandas to enter the U.S. in 20 years.

For years, the Chinese language authorities has loaned pandas to zoos all over the world in a follow referred to as “panda diplomacy.” These fuzzy ambassadors have lengthy been a logo of the U.S.-China friendship, ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the Nationwide Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1972.

However in recent times, China stopped renewing panda loans to zoos and calling again residence the animals it had given to Western international locations as relations soured. The San Diego Zoo’s earlier pandas left in 2018 and 2019.

Then in February, the China Wildlife Conservation Affiliation introduced it was sending two extra pandas to San Diego and likewise signing agreements with the zoo within the Spanish capital of Madrid, quelling fears that Beijing was ending its historic panda diplomacy. San Diego’s pandas arrived in June and have been acclimating to their new residence earlier than being seen by the general public.

“That is about one thing a lot deeper, a lot richer, than simply the 2 stunning pandas we rejoice,” Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned on the opening ceremony that included dancing, music, and remarks from Chinese language ambassador Xie Feng, and different native officers. “It’s about celebrating our frequent humanity.”

For the event, Newsom proclaimed Aug. 8 as California Panda Day and acknowledged the San Diego Zoo as the primary group within the U.S. to determine a cooperative panda conservation program with China.

Xie mentioned he met somebody on his flight who had traveled all the way in which from Washington, D.C., to see the pandas.

“Two little panda followers from California wrote a number of letters to me proposing giving China grizzly bears to get pandas,” Xie mentioned, eliciting laughs.

Solely 4 different large pandas at the moment reside in america, all on the zoo in Atlanta. Nonetheless, the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Zoo will obtain a brand new pair of pandas by the top of the 12 months after its final bears returned to China final November. As a part of the mortgage settlement, U.S. zoos sometimes pay $1 million a 12 months towards China’s wildfire conservation efforts, and all cubs born within the U.S. should return to China by age 4.

Each pandas on the San Diego Zoo have been born on the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in China’s Sichuan province.

Yun Chuan is an almost five-year-old male panda described by the zoo as “mild-mannered, mild and lovable.” He’s the grandson of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, who each lived on the San Diego Zoo for greater than a decade. His mom, Zhen Zhen, was the fourth cub born on the zoo.

Xin Bao is an almost four-year-old feminine panda described by the zoo as a “mild and witty introvert with a candy spherical face and large ears.”

“Her identify means a treasure of prosperity and abundance, and we hope she’s going to convey you good luck,” Ambassador Xie mentioned. He additionally spoke about China being California’s prime buying and selling accomplice in addition to the big Chinese language group within the state and the abundance of Chinese language vacationers.

Among the many pandas’ largest followers are two youngsters who have been proudly carrying “Panda Ridge” t-shirts and carrying plushies on the zoo Thursday morning.

“Pandas are their favourite animals, if you happen to might solely see what our home seems to be like by way of stuffed animals,” their father James Metz mentioned.

It was additionally his seven-year-old daughter’s birthday, making it an additional special day. For weeks, the household has been eagerly watching dwell panda feeds from China in anticipation of the bears’ arrival.

Yun Chuan and Xin Bao have been hanging out and enjoyable after consuming, Metz mentioned.