Well, here's an anniversary we can all squee over. It was four decades ago today that the People's Republic of China presented President Richard Nixon with the gift of two giant pandas. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray and a D.C. delegation are taking the show on the road with a June visit to three Chinese cities, where they seek to expand business opportunities. more ›

Mayor Vince Gray said at a press conference today that in building the District's trade relationship with China, the continuous building boom in the world's second-largest economy could use the knowledge of D.C.'s tech sector. more ›

Kicking off the Kennedy Center's CHINA: The Art of a Nation series, Two Dogs' Opinions on Life is a laugh riot—if you speak Chinese. Luckily for the rest of us, the actors carry off the difficult task of parodying Chinese life in slapstick, farce, and sound effects everyone can understand. more ›

Last Monday, one of our readers made us all insanely jealous by getting the chance to visit Wolong's Bifengxia Base in Ya'an, Sichuan and catch up with our old friend Butterstick. But we did notice was that Tai Shan had, uh, put on a couple of pounds. more ›

So much for an international incident -- the Georgetown men's basketball team and members of the Bayi Rockets officially made amends yesterday, exchanging pleasantries and the peace offering of autographed basketballs. more ›

During a game in Beijing against the Chinese Basketball Association's Bayi Rockets, the Georgetown men's basketball team got into a brawl after head coach John Thompson III pulled his charges off the court in the middle of the fourth quarter. more ›

Capital Bikeshare just had a rider take the system's 500,000th ride. Congratulations are in order, though bikesharing in Washington and the United States still has a long way to go. more ›

You'll have to excuse me if I get a little verklempt tomorrow morning while putting together the Morning Roundup -- after all, tomorrow will mark one year to the day from which we published what has to be one of the saddest photosets in this fair blog's history, documenting Butterstick's departure from the National Zoo. So how's our buddy doing? more ›

Our Twitter feeds were clogged last night with several tweets like this one, wondering what the deal was with a huge police presence by the Woodley Park Metro station. But not to fear: it's just Hu! more ›

Near the beginning of Star Wars, in the scene in which Luke and his uncle purchase C-3PO and R2-D2, they initially choose a different model rather than our plucky blue friend R2 from the lineup of droids. For just a moment -- before the one they do choose blows a gasket and Luke points to R2 and says, "What about that one?" -- the audience is filled with dread that after all they've been through, that the two droids might be separated again. Nearly the same thing happens at the start of Mao's Last Dancer, as Communist Party officials come into a rural Chinese classroom looking for potential recruits for the new national ballet program started by Chairman Mao's wife. They walk around the room, take stock of the children, and are nearly out the door when Li Cunxin's teacher grabs the coat of the dour official, points to Li, and says, "What about that boy?" more ›

On his Slate blog, Tom Scocca notes -- in a post titled "Puny and Decadent American-Bred Panda Is Being Retrained to Chinese Standards," which, by the way, incorrectly attributes the "Butterstick" moniker to Wonkette and not its actual creator -- that after ripping him away from us, the Chinese found our beloved Butterstick to be, well, not up to standard. more ›

We got pretty excited when we came across this Washington Post story, in which National Zoo Director Dennis Kelly outlines how the Zoo is attempting to ensure that pandas remain a fixture in Washington: more ›

Our beloved Butterstick was released from his 30-day quarantine at Wolong's Bifengxia Base in Ya'an, Sichuan earlier today. Tai is reportedly getting along well with his keepers (we're so proud!) and was allowed to roam around his new enclosure at the base for the first time. more ›

Our beloved Butterstick has only been in China for a few hours, and they've already pimped him out as a corporate spokesperson. The Washington Post reports that Sichuan Auto Industry Group, a Chinese automaker, will fork over $150,000 to "adopt" Tai Shan for life. more ›

Butterstick, aka Tai Shan, has arrived at his new home at Wolong's Bifengxia Base in Ya'an, Sichuan, according to a news release from the National Zoo. more ›

Say what you will about obsessive panda fans becoming overly emotional about Tai Shan leaving D.C. this morning for China, but there's one group of people who have every right to cry: the National Zoo's panda team. more ›

If you've been putting it off, wait no longer. Sneak out of the office right now and get on up to the Smithsonian's National Zoo, because Tai Shan is leaving in the morning. Animal exhibits are typically only open until 4:30 p.m. in the winter months, so time is fleeting. more ›

Butterstick may be leaving us in less than a week, but at least he'll be doing it in style. more ›

We already knew the date for Butterstick's going away party, but now it looks like we at last have the final date when he'll permanently depart for dread Red China. The Associated Press is quoting Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough as saying Tai Shan will leave D.C.'s National Zoo on Feb. 4. more ›

We've long been fans of The Daily Show's Resident Expert John "Mr. PC" Hodgman, but last night he may have put himself over the top to become our favorite personality on the show. During a discussion with Jon Stewart over how best to approach solving the United States' debt crisis with China, Hodgman noted that the one thing we have that China really seems to want is our very own Butterstick. Couldn't we use the furball for a little leverage? We'd certainly argue that Tai Shan (or as Hodgman calls him, "the panda") is worth somewhere around $800 billion TO OUR HEARTS. more ›

Tai Shan, the National Zoo's main attraction for the last four years and its only surviving giant panda cub, will be taken to China sometime in early 2010, Zoo officials said today. News that the Zoo's lease on the young panda would not be renewed first broke early this morning. more ›

We knew this day was probably coming, but somehow we still weren't prepared. Tai Shan, the National Zoo's only surviving giant panda cub, the pride and joy of Washington, the one and only Butterstick, is being snatched away from us. Zoo officials have scheduled a 10 a.m. press conference this morning to announce that our favorite furball will soon be sent to the People’s Republic of China, per the agreement between the Zoo and the Chinese government. more ›

President Obama is starting bilateral talks with China here in Washington today, which means residents can expect to be inconvenienced in one way or another for the next two days by the roughly 150 Chinese dignitaries currently in town. Expect additional motorcades and intermittent, temporary road closures in the vicinity of the Ronald Reagan Building and the White House. DDOT says minor delays due to closures should be expected on both inbound and outbound 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues until at least 6 p.m. Drivers intending to head southbound out of the city on 14th Street this evening are advised to use the 9th Street tunnel instead, while those heading into the city should use 12th Street or 7th Street. more ›

The National Zoo once again rolled out the fanfare for superstar giant panda Tai Shan this morning, as D.C.'s favorite ball of fur (and stick of butter) turned 4. Now a teenager in "bear years," the panda dug into a three-tiered, frozen "cake" made out of water, beet juice, bamboo and fruit that was prepared by Zoo staff. Crowds of onlookers were on hand early this morning to watch the panda dig in to his treat and wish him a happy birthday. more ›

Man, the Washington Post really knows how to twist the knife while the wound is still fresh. Just a day after we all learned that the National Zoo's female adult panda, Mei Xiang, wasn't pregnant after all, Postie Michael E. Ruane files a story reminding us that Tai Shan, our beloved stick o' butter who's now all grown up, will eventually be sent back to China. Oh, and that day could come sooner than you think. Thanks, man. You also had something to tell us about Santa Claus, right? more ›

If you’ve ever been inside Twin Oaks estate, that massive mansion in Cleveland Park on Woodley Avenue NW between Wisconsin and Connecticut avenues, you are in rare company: it’s the largest privately owned estate in D.C. that doesn’t house the president, and it’s only open to the public for special events. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) runs Twin Oaks now, using it to host Taiwanese diplomatic and cultural events. This year, TECRO is commemorating the 120th anniversary of Twin Oaks. DCist had the chance to visit Twin Oaks last Friday for the celebration and speak with Taiwanese Ambassador Jason Yuan about his experiences in D.C., Taiwan-China-U.S. relations, and Taiwan's connection with National Geographic. more ›

According to a press release today from National Zoo Director John Barry, the earthquake that devastated some areas of China on May 12 put the Wolong Panda Reserve and the viability of its programs at risk. more ›

>> Yesterday we profiled Five Four, the hardest working all girl band in the city, with the cutest shoes, in a Three Stars piece. Tonight you can see those shoes up close and personal at DC9, $8. If that's not the dose of local music you were hoping for tonight, how about Meredith Bragg at the Black Cat, or Gist at Iota? more ›