China Made the United States a Gift of Two Giant Pandas in 1972

The 1972 trip to China by President Nixon was a momentous occasion in 20th-century history. In essence, it marked a new phase in China's opening to the west. Numerous cultural exchanges were established during his visit or announced for the future. Mr. and Mrs. Nixon and Chairman Mao and his wife exchanged individual gifts. China gave the United States two Giant Pandas, the first ever to live in the country, as one national-level gift. The Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., was where the gift was kept.

Two native American musk oxen were sent to the Chinese as a gift in exchange, although it's unlikely that they would have caused the same stir in China as the pandas did in the United States. They immediately surpassed all other exhibits at the National Zoo in popularity. It was anticipated that the pandas, Ling-Ling, and Hsing-Hsing would breed. President Nixon expressed skepticism about their knowledge of what to do when they took their time. They did because, when they were all together, they gave birth to five cubs, though none lived more than a few days.

In 1992, Ling-Ling passed away; in 1999, Hsing-Hsing. Over a year later, replacement pandas from China came. Following Pat Nixon's remark to Chou En-Lai that she liked the species, the Smithsonian and its affiliates gave Chou En-Lai two Giant Pandas, which started a collaboration between Chinese researchers and scientists and those of the Smithsonian that has lasted for the past 50 years in the study of animals and the preservation of numerous indigenous species to both China and the United States.