On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon announced that he would travel to the People’s Republic of China in an effort to improve diplomatic relations with the previously unrecognized government, the most adorable result of which was the gifting of giant pandas Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling to the National Zoological Park. We’ve told this tale before in The Bigger Picture blog post "Panda-monium!" but have prepared a slide show of the events surrounding their arrival as well as a few pictures of the cubs settling in to their new digs. See below to check out First Lady Patricia Nixon welcoming the pandas to their new home, visiting Chinese zoologists touring Smithsonian museums, and of course the stars of the show, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling being their precious panda selves.
- Panda-monium!, The Bigger Picture blog, Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Accession 11-009 - Smithsonian Photographic Services, Photographic Collection, 1971-2006, Smithsonian Institution Archives