Credit: The Panda Express takes off as it transports Giant Pandas from the Smithsonian's National Zoo at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on November 8, 2023. All three of the zoo's pandas are leaving for China, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the US capital. And while the pandas' departure had been expected due to contractual obligations, many can't help but see the shift as reflective of the growing strains between Beijing and Washington. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Pandas say last goodbye before long journey back to China from National Zoo