Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing
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Ling-Ling (1969-92) and Hsing-Hsing (1970-99) were the names of two pandas given to the United States as gifts by the government of China following President Nixon's visit in 1972. In return, the U.S. government sent China a pair of musk ox.
They arrived at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, on April 16, 1972, at a ceremony attended by First Lady Pat Nixon. While at the zoo, they attracted millions of visitors each year.
While at the zoo, the pair had five cubs, but none of them survived past a few days.
Ling-Ling died in 1992, at which time she was the longest-lived giant panda in captivity outside China. Hsing-Hsing would go on to pass her record when he died in November 1999 at the age of 28. Following Hsing-Hsing's death, the zoo received thousands of letters and cards from people across the country expressing sympathy.
The Panda House at the National Zoo remained empty for over a year until the arrival of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian from the Wolong Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in December 2000.
