At approx. 4:50 p.m. today, the Federal Express 777F air freighter carrying the two U.S.-born pandas from Dulles International Airport touched down in Chengdu. 

The pandas returned to China under a bilateral agreement that stipulates that China retains ownership of the adult pandas and any offspring, which should return to China when they reach two years old.  China granted a two-year extension for Tai Shan to remain at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., then agreed to an additional six months’ extension in August 2009.

In a ceremony organized by the Sichuan Forestry Department, U.S. Consul General David E. Brown welcomed the pandas, saying,

“Ever since Tai Shan was born in Washington, D.C. in 2005, and Mei Lan in Atlanta, Georgia in 2006, both pandas have become endearing goodwill ambassadors for China in the United States.  They, along with their parents and the other pandas on loan from China in San Diego, California and Memphis, Tennessee occupy a special place in the U.S.-China relationship, which has matured and expanded over the past 30 years.  In 1972, even before formal diplomatic relations between our two countries were established in 1979, the National Zoo welcomed its first pair of pandas -- Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling.  Since then, the personal and institutional relationships formed through these panda exchanges have deepened, and they are now a foundation for important joint efforts that continue to advance the conservation of pandas and their habitat.” 

Following the arrival ceremony, Tai Shan will be driven two and a half hours to Wolong’s Bifengxia Panda Base, just outside the city of Ya’an, Sichuan, which will be his new home.  Mei Lan will be taken to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu.

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