Overview
- Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei landed at Chengdu’s Tianfu International Airport at 01:00 local time on January 28 and were moved to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda’s Ya’an base for quarantine.
- The siblings departed Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on January 27, were driven to Narita Airport in transport crates about 1.4 meters tall by 1.7 meters long and 1 meter wide, and then flown to Sichuan.
- Their exit leaves Japan without any giant pandas for the first time since 1972, closing more than five decades of continuous panda exhibits.
- Ueno Zoo reported heavy public interest, with roughly 108,000 people vying for 4,400 viewing slots on January 25 to say farewell.
- Japanese officials voiced hope that China’s panda loans will continue, while coverage noted Beijing’s use of “panda diplomacy” and the recent chill in relations following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.