TokyoTomo Travel Guide

Dubbed the “Panda Express”, one of FedEx’s latest fleet of Boeing B777F freighters has a panda decal on the nose section of its fuselage, as seen on picture, flew on a special mission earlier this month on a non-stop flight from Dulles International airport near Washington’s National Zoo, to Chengdu, China, with two giant pandas onboard.

The payload, two giant pandas have become endearing goodwill ambassadors for China in the United States, now destined to return to China, under an agreement that allows China to retain ownership of adult pandas and any offspring.

Tai Shan, a 4.5-year-old male panda, born at the National Zoo, will travel with Mei Lan, a 3-year-old panda born at the Atlanta zoo. China lent Tai Shan’s and Mei Lan’s parents to U.S. zoos for breeding. Tai Shan’s parents are expected to return to China in December 2011.

The first panda couple at the National Zoo, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, arrived in 1972 as a gift to the American people from China after President Richard Nixon’s historic visit. China has long used pandas as a friendly gesture in diplomacy.