Home, sweet home, Xiao Qi Ji and his family landed in Chengdu

They've arrived home! The charter flight carrying the giant pandas Mei Xiang, Tiantian, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, who were residing in the United States, landed safe and sound in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Thursday.

The pandas are returning home as a family of three. The female panda Mei Xiang, born on July 22, 1998, and the male panda Tiantian, born on August 27, 1997, were residing in the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. as long-serving goodwill ambassadors to the U.S. since December of 2000.

Their male cub Xiao Qi Ji – whose name translates to "Little Miracle" – was born in August 2020 in the U.S. and has brought a lot of joy to visitors. Xiao Qi Ji was born via artificial insemination to the giant panda Mei Xiang at the age of 22, or the equivalent of 80 human years, which is truly a miracle.

The transportation for this journey was handled by FedEx's "Panda Express" Boeing 777 cargo plane. All three pandas are currently in good health. Their "carry-on luggage" includes approximately 100 kilograms of bamboo, 3.6 kg specially-made biscuits, 2.3 kg of low-starch biscuits, 2.7 kg of apples, 2.3 kg of carrots, 2.7 kg of sweet potatoes, 1.4 kg of sugarcane, half a kilogram of pears, and half a kilogram of cooked pumpkin. A veterinarian and two caregivers accompanied them throughout the journey.

Prior to their departure, the Smithsonian's National Zoo organized several "farewell parties" for the three pandas, attracting a multitude of locals bidding them adieu.

The three bears are now at the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve, over 100 kilometers from Chengdu, undergoing a month-long quarantine. They are expected to be re-introduced to the public in coming December.