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Tourist favorites, giant pandas from China, will be back on display at National Zoo

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A, the pandas are back.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Oh, adorbs.

FADEL: (Laughter) Two giant pandas arrived yesterday at D.C.'s National Zoo from China. Bao Li and Qing Bao touched down at Dulles Airport in an aircraft nicknamed the FedEx Panda Express.

MARTÍNEZ: Oh, my gosh. I think we're really trying to pander to the audience.

FADEL: I think so. And once they arrived, they traveled to the zoo in true Washington fashion, a police-escorted motorcade. Their arrival marks the end of an 11-month chill in, shall we say, panda diplomacy.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, that's because China didn't provide the National Zoo with new pandas last year after the previous pandas went home. Any idea when we can check them out, Leila?

FADEL: Yeah, not until January. They have a mandatory quarantine period first. And they'll be in D.C. for the next 10 years.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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