Cutest Head of State Gift - EVER
The United States received two giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, from the People’s Republic of China in April, 1972. The pandas were given as a token of friendship in response to President Nixon’s goodwill trip to China.
First Lady Pat Nixon officially accepted the fuzzy goodwill ambassadors at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. She had been charmed by the pandas she had seen in China and declared at the welcoming ceremony, “I think ‘panda-monium’ is going to break out at the zoo.”
Pat was right, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were the top attractions at the zoo until their deaths in in the 1990s.
Here, Ling-Ling munches on her snack on her first day in the new Panda House at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. 4/16/1972. Noms.