PHOTOS: Two giant pandas’ journey from China to Smithsonian’s National Zoo

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

FedEx transported two giant pandas from China to the National Zoo in D.C. in a plane dubbed the “Panda Express.” (Courtesy FedEx)

Two-year-old Qing Bao (left) in her habitat at Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan, China, and two-year-old Bao Li (right) in his habitat at Shenshuping Base in Wolong. (Courtesy Roshan Patel/Smithsonian National Zoo)

Trucks carrying the giant pandas pull into the National Zoo on Oct. 15, 2024. (WTOP/Nick Iannelli)

Police vehicles escort a FedEx truck carrying giant pandas to the National Zoo after they arrived at Dulles International Airport from China on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

With the help of “FedEx Panda Team” crew members, one of the bears that will soon call the National Zoo home is lowered off an airplane at Dulles Airport on Oct. 15, 2024. (Courtesy 7 News)

Precious panda cargo — one of the bears — is unloaded off the plane at Dulles Airport on Oct. 15, 2024. (Courtesy 7 News)

A FedEx cargo plane arrives at Dulles International Airport carrying giant pandas from China on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, male giant panda Bao Li is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP) (AP/Jin Tao)

In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, female giant panda Qing Bao is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP) (AP/Jin Tao)

In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a pair of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao are prepared for loading onto a plane at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP) (AP/Jin Tao)

In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, workers send off the pair of giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP) (AP/Jin Tao)