Giant panda Ya Ya arrives in Beijing after long-awaited journey from US

Chinese vets check the health status of giant panda Ya Ya after her flight landed in Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Courtesy of National Forestry and Grassland Administration

Giant panda Ya Ya arrived in Beijing on Sunday night after a long-awaited journey from the US, and was warmly received by Chinese netizens with live-stream messages.

Staff from Beijing Zoo said Ya Ya will receive an examination, and when the public will be able to visit her will be subject to her medical examination results.

Beijing Zoo installed a new security gate in front of the panda pavilion as part of its preparations, media reported.

Ya Ya left Shanghai, where she was placed under quarantine at the Shanghai Zoo for a month after landing in Shanghai on April 27 from the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. Experts from Beijing Zoo have been taking care of her 24 hours a day there.

Ya Ya’s return has long been a hot topic on Chinese social media platforms. On Sunday night, live-streaming messages about Ya Ya’s return from Shanghai to Beijing were seen all over the internet.

Ya Ya, a female panda, was born in Beijing Zoo in August 2000. In April 2003, as part of a cooperation program on the protection and research into giant pandas between China and the US, Ya Ya and Le Le, a male panda from Shanghai Zoo, were flown to Memphis.

Since the beginning of 2021, there have been continuous reports about Ya Ya and Le Le being in poor health, with heart-wrenching photos surfacing online. After Le Le’s death in February, pictures of an emaciated Ya Ya had a strong impact on the Chinese public, leading many netizens to call for her early return.