By Meghann M. De Jesus
KidScoop Media Reporter,
Age 14
Adorable. Smart. Playful. These words come to mind when I think of pandas, but there is more to these fuzzy black-and-white bears than meets the eye. Governor Gavin Newsom declared August 8, 2024, California Panda Day.
On this day, I had the opportunity to cover the debut of San Diego Zoo’s two newest giant pandas, Xin Bao and Yun Chuan, and their newly renovated habitat called Panda Ridge.
As I arrived at the media check-in station at 7:30 a.m., I picked up my badge which gave me early access to see the pandas before the public, attend the opening ceremony of Panda Ridge, and interview influential leaders.
I joined local and international news reporters at an outdoor area where cameras were already set up for live coverage. Behind thick glass-panel windows was Yun Chuan, the male panda, who appeared content just sitting, relaxing, and munching on bamboo while Xin Bao was in a separate location.
So, who are these fuzzy ambassadors and why all the “panda-mania”? Yun Chuan is five years-old and his name means “big river of cloud.” Xin Bao is the four-year-old female whose name means “treasure of prosperity and abundance.”
Marco Wendt, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Ambassador, described each panda’s unique personality. Wendt stated, “Yun Chuan is laid back. His favorite activities include sleeping in, sitting, eating bamboo, and napping…Xin Bao is inquisitive, playful, and super intelligent.” These two, like all other pandas, symbolize an alliance between China and other countries such as, the United States (U.S.).
The first pandas were gifted to the U.S. in 1972 in honor of President Nixon’s visit to China. In 1984, China started to loan out pandas as part of a panda diplomacy program to build relationships with countries for security, trade, and resources. However, China began to recall pandas including those from the San Diego Zoo in 2019 because of diplomatic tensions with the U.S.
Recently, after eight months of collaboration and wildlife conservation efforts between the San Diego Zoo Conservation Alliance and China Wildlife Conservation Association, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao became the first pandas to enter the U.S. in twenty-one years symbolizing a renewed alliance between the two countries.
To celebrate this collaboration, the opening ceremony began with Chinese cultural music and dance performances followed by inspirational speeches from leaders including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. His Excellency Xie Feng. Feng provided a sense of hope stating, “China-U.S. cooperation on panda conservation will not cease; our people-to-people exchanges and subnational cooperation will not stop, and once opened, the door of China-U.S. friendship will not be shut again.
We hope with this new round of cooperation, we will further downgrade pandas and other rare wild animals around the world from endangered to vulnerable and finally to unthreatened.”
As the ceremony was ending, I stood drinking a vanilla steamer with a panda imprint on foam, reflecting on the morning’s events. With a new appreciation of pandas, two more words came to mind: unity and hope.