Foreign and Military Affairs
Washingtonians express pride, hope for departing Chinese panda cub
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-05 11:13
AMBASSADOR OF FRIENDSHIP
Tai Shan and its family are not only an important icon for the zoo and the city, but also represent the goodwill of the Chinese people toward the United States.
|
 Giant Panda bear Tai Shan, 4, is pictured in his enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, December 4, 2009. Under an agreement with China's government Tai Shan, the first surviving Giant Panda cub born at the zoo in 2005, will relocate permanently to Sichuan, China in early 2010 to begin his participation in a breeding program. [Agencies] |
Stevens said many Americans became willing to know more about China after they fell in love with the cute panda cub.
"He is an ambassador of friendship," she told Xinhua.
The curator said she believes there will always be a presence of panda in the zoo and hopes that Tai Shan's parents could produce more offspring while they are in the United States.
In fact, giant pandas have been playing a unique role in promoting the relations between the United States and China for decades.
Soon after then U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972, China sent a giant panda couple, Ling Ling and Xin Xin, to the U.S. National Zoo as a gift from the Chinese people.
The death of the couple in the 1990s saddened the whole nation.
In 2000, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in Washington, taking over the "friendship ambassador" role played by Ling Ling and Xin Xin for many years.
There are now 13 Chinese giant pandas living in four zoos in the United States.
