California’s state animal might be the grizzly bear, but today is another bear’s big moment to shine.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared Aug. 8, 2024, to be California Panda Day — a playful (but also politically significant) nod to Thursday’s public debut of two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, at the San Diego Zoo.

These two pandas, in a gesture of goodwill from China, are the first to be sent to the United States in more than two decades.

“This conservation collaboration is part of California and China’s long history of working together toward shared goals,” said Newsom, who is expected to visit the zoo in the morning. “Building on our strong foundation of partnership and deep cultural and economic ties, I traveled to China last year to advance priority issues including climate action and economic development.

“We hope that the newly arrived panda ‘envoys of friendship’ will lead to further exchanges and cooperation between California and China,” he added, in his official proclamation of California Panda Day.

Yun Chuan and Xin Bao arrived in San Diego in June after a collaborative conservation agreement reignited a “panda diplomacy” between China and the U.S. that had appeared to falter for a few years.

(For more than five decades, beginning in 1972, China has lent pandas to zoos across the U.S. as “envoys of friendship,” but doubts about the future of these loans grew in 2019 after the San Diego Zoo returned its last giant pandas to China. The Memphis Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo have also sent back several pandas in recent years, when their multiyear agreements were up.)

The Panda's Return

China’s Xi Jinping hinted at a return of the popular giant panda loan program. This would help another generation of Americans get to know these remarkable animals.

San Diego is a particularly meaningful place to ring in this next era of panda diplomacy. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance was the first organization in the nation to establish a cooperative panda conservation program, and researchers there have since made significant contributions to our scientific understanding of how to nurture such a keystone species.

One of the new pandas, Yun Chuan, in fact, is the son of Zhen Zhen, a female panda born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007.

Panda Personalities

At almost 5 years old, Yun Chuan is identifiable by his long, pointy nose. He has an active personality, but he is also known to be gentle and sensitive to others. He’s serious about his bamboo but will always let other pandas go first, according to his wildlife care specialists.

Xin Bao, the smaller of the two, has a large, round face and big, fluffy ears that help set her apart from other pandas. She is almost 4 years old and naturally playful — her caretakers have said she is witty and curious, and has proved to be an excellent climber and will even roughhouse a bit with other pandas.

New Home

Their new home, the newly expanded “Panda Ridge” at the San Diego Zoo, has been designed to reflect the sweeping mountains, canyons and cliffs of China’s Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. Four times larger than the zoo’s previous panda habitat, this reimagined space also features shade trees for climbing and rolling hillsides for Yun Chuan and Xin Bao to explore.

People wishing to see the new pandas can do so in several ways: Obtain a complimentary timed ticket on the day of your visit, join a standby line in person, or reserve an exclusive 60-minute “Early Morning With Pandas Walking Tour.” Additional information can be found on the zoo’s website.

Panda Diplomacy's Role

China loans pandas to more than 20 countries under a program often referred to as “panda diplomacy.” Its panda loans to the US stretch back to 1972 – though the number of loans has decreased in recent years as US-China relations worsened.

Over the past few years, pandas from the Memphis Zoo and Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, were returned to China. The four giant pandas at Zoo Atlanta will go back to China later this year.

But San Diego’s agreement with China may represent a new phase in panda diplomacy; China announced in April it would also send pandas to the San Francisco Zoo for the first time.

The San Diego Zoo, one of the world’s most renowned, was the first American institution to carry out cooperative research on giant pandas with China. Since 1994, it has worked with the Sichuan conservation center to study the species’ behavior, genetics, artificial breeding, nutrition and disease prevention.

The San Diego Zoo has said that it is working closely with Chinese experts to cater to the pandas’ dietary needs, providing a variety of fresh bamboo and a local adaptation of wowotou, a traditional Chinese bun also called “panda bread.”

The Future of Panda Diplomacy

The arrival of Yun Chuan and Xin Bao signals a shift in “panda diplomacy.” While previously seen as gifts, they are now considered leases, reflecting the growing complexity of relations between the US and China. This shift highlights the complex dynamics at play – the importance of conservation efforts, the symbolic value of these animals, and the delicate balance of power between nations.

As these pandas settle into their new home in San Diego, they'll be watched closely by conservationists and diplomats alike. Their presence marks a significant step in panda conservation and a potential new chapter in panda diplomacy. Their story, both heartwarming and politically charged, underscores the multifaceted nature of international relations, where even the most cuddly creatures can become ambassadors of a nation’s ambitions.