California’s governor flew in for the event. Throngs of media gathered, while the City of San Diego warned of traffic jams. The San Diego Zoo rolled out the red carpet Thursday for the first public showing of its newest residents. Visitors watched the two giant pandas sunbathe and chow down on bamboo in their new home, the first pandas to enter the US in two decades. For years, the Chinese government has loaned pandas to zoos around the world in a practice called “panda diplomacy.” These fuzzy ambassadors have long been a symbol of the US-China friendship, ever since Beijing gifted a pair of pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, DC, in 1972.

The opening ceremony included dancing, music, and remarks from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Chinese ambassador Xie Feng, and local officials. “This is about something much deeper, much richer, than just the two beautiful pandas we celebrate,” Newsom said. “It’s about celebrating our common humanity.” The governor recognized the zoo as the first organization in the US to establish a cooperative panda conservation program with China. Ambassador Xie said he met someone on his flight traveling from Washington, DC, to see the pandas. “Two little panda fans from California wrote several letters to me proposing giving China grizzly bears to get pandas,” Xie said, eliciting laughs.

Both pandas were born at the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in China’s Sichuan province. Yun Chuan is a nearly 5-year-old male described by the zoo as “mild-mannered, gentle and lovable.” He is the grandson of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, who both lived at the San Diego Zoo for more than a decade. Xin Bao is a nearly 4-year-old female described as a “gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears.” Only four other giant pandas reside in the US, all at the zoo in Atlanta. However, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is to receive a new pair of pandas by the end of the year. As part of the loan agreement, US zoos typically pay $1 million a year toward China’s wildfire conservation efforts. All cubs born in the US must return to China by age 4.

(More giant pandas stories.)