Panda Diplomacy
Take me away, mom Animals on the Road	“Water Margin” on eggs Cat the occupier Adorable animals pose like stars Cuddle up together, battling against blizzard Sunshine in the life

 

 

In the spring of 1972, two pandas were flown from China to the national zoo in Washington DC. Singsing and Lingling immediately won the hearts of the American people. Americans had seen pandas before.

In 1937 US explorer Ruth Harkness brought one back from China and sold it to Chicago's Brookfield zoo. But when Singsing and Lingling arrived in 1972 a new era of 'panda diplomacy' was born.

By the end of the year more than a million people had seen Singsing and Lingling, given as a gift of friendship to the people of the United States.

National Zoo director Dennis Kelly: "Pandas build a bridge between the American people and the Chinese people, and it allows us to understand each others' cultures better."

Today, there are 13 pandas in four zoos across the US. They continue to draw crowds more than four decades after Singsing and Lingling arrived in America.

Leave us a comment on Facebook

@China Plus news and you could win a prize from Beijing’s Forbidden City.

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan