As the Atlanta zoo laments the departure of its four giant pandas, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., eagerly awaits the arrival of a pair of the hugely popular black-and-white bears.

Bao Li and Qing Bao travelled nearly 9,000 miles to the US as the 'panda diplomacy' between both countries resumes.

Two giant pandas arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., from Chengdu, China, on Tuesday, October 15. The pandas made a stop in Anchorage, Alaska,