SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — It’s officially “Panda Day” in California, with the San Diego Zoo just hours away from revealing two giant pandas in a historic moment of diplomacy between the U.S. and China.
The zoo’s opening ceremony will be livestreamed within this story beginning at approximately 12 p.m. ET.
Yun Chuan (pronounced yoon chu-an) and Xin Bao (pronounced sing bao) arrived from the East Asian nation in June, marking the first time a Chinese panda has been sent to the U.S. in over a decade.
Since then, the panda pair have been acclimating to their new home in a private habitat, known as Panda Ridge. Officials with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gave a first look of the pandas in their new space in early July, showing them enjoying the special habitat.
This newly expanded enclosure is approximately 6,000 feet in size, with a guest viewing capacity that will cap at about 173 guests. That’s more than doubles the capacity of the previous habitat, according to the Wildlife Alliance.
In preparation for their big debut, the zoo’s care teams have been working closely with Chinese experts to provide the giant pandas with food matching their dietary needs, checking up on their mobility and monitoring overall health.
With a clean bill of health, the day has finally come for the pandas to be revealed to the public. An opening ceremony is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Following the opening ceremony, zoo guests will officially be given access to the Panda Ridge viewing area. Visitors will need to obtain a complimentary “Giant Panda Timed Ticket” at the time of park entry or join the standby line. Additionally, guests can make reservations for an exclusive 60-minute “Early Morning with Pandas Walking Tour.”
The San Diego Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
FOX 5’s Danielle Dawson contributed to this report.