Smithsonian's National Zoo celebrates 50 years of the 'iconic' giant panda program

Panda cub Xiao Qi Ji hangs out in a tree at the Smithsonian&#039;s National Zoo.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 17 March 2022

The next six months will be pandamonium at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The zoo is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its giant panda program with six months of in-person and online events. China sent the first pandas to the zoo in 1972 as an act of goodwill, following President Richard Nixon's state visit to the country.

"After 50 years, giant pandas remain an iconic species for our zoo," Brandi Smith, the director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, said in a statement. "More importantly, they represent how great conservation outcomes can be achieved through great partnerships with our Chinese colleagues. Being able to introduce hundreds of millions of people worldwide to pandas and inspiring them to care about their conservation for five decades, coupled with our scientific breakthroughs, is a milestone worth celebrating."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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