Two giant pandas arrive at Washington's National Zoo from China

(Reuters) - A pair of giant pandas arrived in Washington from China on Tuesday to move into their new home at the U.S. National Zoo, which has been without the black-and-white bears, one of its most popular attractions, for nearly a year.

China sent the pandas as part of an agreement announced earlier this year by U.S. and Chinese government officials intended to warm relations between the two superpowers. The zoo returned three other giant pandas - two adults and their cub - which had been on loan from China.

The new male and female pandas, named Bao Li and Qing Bao, arrived at Dulles International Airport on a FedEx plane, transported in large white crates with breathing holes along the side, and were driven by truck to the zoo.

Bao Li and Qing Bao will stay inside the National Zoo's panda house for 30 days under quarantine, the zoo said.

The zoo has had pandas since 1972, when the Chinese government sent a pair as a gift to the American people following U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China as the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Bao Li is a descendant of pandas who once lived in Washington. His mother was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in 2013, and his grandparents Tian and Mei Xiang lived there from 2000 to 2023.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Matthew Lewis)