Source: People's Daily client
Fifty years ago, along with the "ice-breaking" of Sino-US relations, the national treasure panda "sent an envoy" to the United States. Fifty years later, despite the cold snap in Sino-US relations, pandas are still a rare warmth in the relations between the two countries, and the cute and cute "rolling" people have brought infinite joy and lasting friendship to the two peoples.
On April 16, 2022, local time, at the Smithsonian Institution National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the giant panda cub "Little Miracle" (right) and the mother "Mei Xiang" enjoyed a frozen fruit cake. Celebrating the arrival of giant pandas in the United States and the 50th anniversary of the zoo's giant panda program. Liu Jie/Xinhua News Agency Photo
China and the United States establish diplomatic relations, and pandas go first
In February 1972, at the farewell banquet of President Nixon's visit to China, President Nixon's wife turned over and over with a Panda brand cigarette on the table. Premier Zhou asked, do you like it? Mrs. Nixon replied that I don't smoke, but I like pandas, can I take this box of cigarettes away? Premier Zhou said, of course, you can take away the panda cigarette, and our Chinese government can also give you a pair of real giant pandas. To Mrs. Nixon's surprise, she patted Nixon on the shoulder and said, "China is going to send us pandas!" Real pandas! ”
Two months later, the giant pandas "Xingxing" and "Lingling" arrived in Washington, D.C., from Beijing, China, 8,000 Americans braved the rain to pick up the plane, President Nixon's wife personally unveiled its debut, attracting 20,000 people to queue up on the first day, 70,000 people flocked to the first weekend, and the number of visitors exceeded one million in the first month. The Washington Post commented that Zhou Enlai conquered the hearts of Americans at once through cute pandas. This year was even dubbed the "Year of the Panda" by the American people. The goodwill conveyed by these "friendly envoys" has undoubtedly created a good atmosphere for promoting the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
The government can not go to work, pandas can not not open
In the past fifty years, this "panda fever" has not subsided in the slightest. Every year, millions of Americans visit the zoo to visit pandas, and countless Americans "cloud suck" pandas through live video broadcasts. In 2018, the National Zoo of the United States once interrupted the live broadcast of pandas due to a government shutdown, which caused public outrage. The American people can tolerate the government not going to work, and cannot accept pandas not operating. In 2020, when the panda "Meixiang" gave birth to its cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (Little Miracle), due to the excessive number of viewers, the live broadcast room of the American zoo was once paralyzed. The Atlanta Zoo, where all pandas are located, said that its online live broadcast has 500,000 online views per month, and sometimes just because the pandas have not moved for 5 minutes, some people call and ask the park to send someone to check it, which is evident in the love of pandas. It is said that another patient miraculously defeated the disease by watching the live broadcast of the giant panda, and the panda is indeed a veritable "healing system".
Three-month-old panda "little miracle". People's Vision Diagram
On April 16, 2022 local time, at the Smithsonian Institution National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the giant panda cub "Little Miracle" (right) and the mother "Mika" together. Liu Jie/Xinhua News Agency Photo
In the U.S.-China co-production documentary "Little Miracles of the Giant Panda," which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the pandas' arrival in the United States, McGrasty, from New York, who traveled 380 miles to attend the "Little Miracles" first birthday party, said that he and his wife have often visited since the arrival of the first panda in the 1970s. No matter how far away, I want to see them. In an interview, Flamel, from Maryland, said she would come to see the pandas every few days, but was ruthlessly poked by her husband, "It's every day, you come every day, admit it." Hi, don't be embarrassed, this is a panda, who can refuse a panda. Others have embarked on the road of protecting pandas from loving pandas. Rhea, a giant panda keeper at Zoo Atlanta, said that when I was 10 years old, I went to the National Zoo to see the first pair of giant pandas that arrived in the United States, and now I am a giant panda keeper, which is a wonderful fate.
On April 16, local time, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., held a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the arrival of giant pandas in the United States. The giant panda "Little Miracle" is playing with a toy ball. China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong/People's Vision picture
Giant pandas are no longer endangered!
Sending pandas to the United States is not only to give the American people a chance to get close to pandas, but also to study pandas together with American experts, so that pandas can be better protected. In the past few decades, China and the United States have carried out good cooperation in the breeding and breeding of giant pandas, disease prevention and control, scientific research, personnel training, and public education, and achieved remarkable results. Monfort, director of the National Zoo, said that for many years, Chinese and American staff have always shared a common goal - to protect giant pandas and help them thrive in nature.
On May 20, 2021, local time, Washington, D.C., the "Meixiang" giant panda lying down to eat. People's Vision Diagram
Huamei, Meisheng, Meilan, Su Lin, Zhenzhen, Xilan, Abao, Taishan, Baby, Babe, Meilun, Meilan, Meilan, Xiao gifts, etc., these red pandas born in the United States and raised under the gaze of the American people have been sent back to their hometown in China after reaching the marriageable age to "marry and have children" and reproduce. With the joint efforts of Chinese and American researchers, the United States has become one of the most successful countries in breeding giant pandas overseas, breeding a total of 17 giant panda pups. With the continuous increase of conservation efforts and the deepening of international cooperation and research, the wild habitat of giant pandas has been continuously restored, the giant panda reserve has been gradually established, and the giant panda national park has been officially established, and the number of wild pandas has increased to more than 1800 and the number of captive populations has increased to more than 600. In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced that the level of threat to giant pandas would be changed from "endangered" to "vulnerable". In his speech to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of giant pandas in the United States, Qin Gang, ambassador to the United States, said that the gratifying achievements made by China and the United States in cooperation in the protection and research of giant pandas prove that China and the United States can work together to achieve major events that are beneficial to the world.
As long as you love pandas too, we are good friends
Why are pandas so popular? Some joke that because pandas are the most politically correct animals, black and white or ethnic minorities, omnivores are vegetarian lovers. Ironically, at present, pandas have become victims of anti-China political correctness, and some anti-China politicians and scholars have said that pandas have softened China's authoritarian image, accused China of using pandas to engage in political propaganda, and threatened to resist "panda diplomacy".
Pandas can't speak, and they can't do any political propaganda. Rather, it will only puncture the demonized political narratives and help us break down prejudices and barriers. Its existence makes us realize that no matter what language we speak, what culture we come from, what ideology we believe, we have a natural, pure love for good things, and we have a naïve, soft heart. We are similar friends, not distant enemies, more closely linked by the same love for pandas.
Panda is a model of Sino-US cooperation and a bridge of Sino-US friendship. As Pan Libang, president of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, said, the role of the giant panda as a "messenger" has made people realize that we have much more in common than differences. Such "emissaries" are particularly valuable at a time when Sino-US relations are encountering difficulties. Seeking common ground while reserving differences and shelving differences -- this is the source of impetus for the ice-breaking of Sino-US relations fifty years ago, and it is also the hope of melting the ice in Sino-US relations today. (Source: The Paper)
(Editor-in-charge: Wang Yuyu, Cui Yue)