The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington D.C. announced Monday that zookeepers are expecting the arrival of two giant pandas from China this week. The pandas, one male and one female,

Two giant pandas began their journey from China to Washington, DC, on Monday, nearly a year Chinese authorities took back a previous pair and prompted fears that the National Zoo would never see the much-beloved animals ever again.

The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., will soon be home to pandas once again. Two 3-year-old panda bears, Qing Bao and Bao Li, have left the research base in Dujiangyan, China, and are ready for their journey to the United States.