Ling-Ling (1969-1992) and Hsing-Hsing (1970-1999) were two giant pandas given to the United States as a gift from the Chinese government after President Richard Nixon visited him in 1972. Instead , the US government. sent a pair of musk oxen to China.
They arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC, on April 16, 1972, at a ceremony attended by First Lady Pat Nixon. While at the zoo, it attracted millions of visitors every year.
During their stay at the National Zoo, the couple had five cubs, but none survived beyond a few days.
Ling-Ling died suddenly of heart failure in December 1992, and at that time was the longest-living giant panda in captivity outside of China. Hsing-Hsing died when he was killed by zookeepers in November 1999 at age 28 due to painful kidney failure. After Hsing-Hsing's death, the zoo received thousands of letters and postcards from people from the whole country expressing its support.
The Panda House in the National Zoo remained empty for over a year, until the arrival of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian from Wolong's research and the Giant Panda Conservation Center in December 2000. >
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