Mei Xiang, a 2-1/2-year-old female whose name means "beautiful fragrance," and Tian Tian, a 3-1/2-year-old male whose name means "more and more", will be flown in from central China on Wednesday, and will likely be greeted by what one official called "a mob scene."

While Washington has a reputation for being obsessed with politics, the zoo's first pandas -- Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling who arrived almost 30 years ago -- became the city's most enduring celebrities.

Washington followed their every move, from their arrival as a gift to commemorate President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking trip to China, the birth of Ling-Ling's five cubs, all of whom were either stillborn or died very young, a kidney infection that nearly killed her in 1983 and the heart attack that claimed her life in 1992, at age 23.

Hsing-Hsing, elderly at 28, was euthanized last year. The zoo estimates that 80 million people visited the panda exhibit over 27 years.

"It comes down to a love affair," said Benjamin Beck, the zoo's associate director for animal programs.

The animals were so popular that the zoo did a study to try to identify the source of panda-mania. It concluded that the giant pandas' high foreheads, snub noses and big black patches over their eyes make them look like huge babies, said Beck.

"Adults ooh and aah," he said. "It's probably a genetic response."

New Guests Get New Pad, Less Sugar

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian will be on a 10-year loan from China at a cost of $10 million. The zoo spent $1.8 million to build new rock and tree structures for them to climb and sand pits for them to roll around in.

"We have to expect them to be a lot more curious and a lot more active. Their yard provides innumerable opportunities for exploration," he said.

The panda's 17,500-square-foot enclosure has two shallow caves to help the giant pandas cope with Washington's hot, sticky summers.

Trees native to China -- species of firs, hemlocks, red cedars and dawn redwoods -- grow inside the enclosure.

"The diet is going to be pretty much the same (as Hsing-Hsing's and Ling-Ling's), except there will probably be less fruit," said Beck. "Like all of us, pandas have a tendency to pick up a little bit of weight if they eat too much sugar."

The animals will be quarantined in their new digs for 30 days before going on public view.

Pandas Will Be Urged To Reproduce

One priority for the zoo will be to help the animals reproduce since the giant panda is threatened with extinction. Any cub will be returned to China, under the deal.

About 1,000 wild pandas live in the mountainous bamboo forests of central China, about 120 live in captivity in China and about 20 others live in zoos around the world.

Ling-Ling likely lost her cubs because she failed to pass needed immunities along to them, said Beck, and National Zoo officials hope that Mei Xiang will have better luck.

While Mei Xiang and Tian Tian won't reach sexual maturity for three or four years, the zoo is eager for them to try to reproduce.

"We'll probably allow them to take care of this on their own," said Beck. "We will follow their lead. They will tell us when they want to be together and when they want to be apart."

(China Daily 12/06/2000)