Visitors sample jiaozi (dumplings) provided by the Chinese embassy in Washington in a dumpling party on Thursday morning at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. It was part of a series of celebratory events to bid farewell to giant panda Bao Bao. (Photo by Chen Weihua/China Daily)
Bao Bao was born on Aug 23, 2013, through artificial insemination of giant panda Mei Xiang. Bao Bao was the first surviving cub at the zoo since 2005 after Tai Shan's birth.
At the beginning of the dumpling party, Lisa Washam of Ohio was writing on wish cards prepared by the zoo. "You are an amazing panda and the best is yet to come. I am very excited for you to take the next step. I can't wait to see your lovely cubs soon. And I am sure they are going to be as beautiful as you are," she said as in reading her message to reporters.
Washam had traveled to Washington in the past years for the debut of Bao Bao and her brother Bei Bei, born in August 2015.
Laurie Thompson, assistant curator of giant pandas at the zoo, described Bao Bao as "very unique".
"She is very independent girl. She loves to do what she wants. She vocalizes a lot when she wants something, a lot like her dad," said Thompson, referring to the zoo's 19-year-old giant panda Tian Tian.
Thompson called Bao Bao "a sweetheart. We love her here. But we know that our work here is done, we need to send her off on her way. Almost an adult now, so we need to let her go," she said.
Under a loan agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, cubs born in the zoo by giant pandas on loan from China also belong to China and should move to China before they reach the age of 4.
The zoo began training Bao Bao in recent months to acclimate her for a 16-hour flight to China in a huge shipping crate.
Michael Brown-Palsgrove, curator of giant pandas, said Bao Bao is now quite comfortable with the crate. "She has no hesitation to enter that space. I think she will be comfortable on the trip," he said.
