Mom Mei Xiang enjoying a fruitsicle at the zoo in 2012.

Photo by Daniel Reidel

What could be better than birthday cake? Birthday cake for a cute panda cub! The National Zoo will celebrate Xiao Qi Ji’s second birthday this Sunday with a super special fruitsicle cake.

Xiao Qi Ji’s journey into this world was nothing short of a miracle (hence his namesake, which is Mandarin Chinese for “little miracle.”)  His mother Mei Xiang had already given birth to three other surviving cubs: Tai Shan, Bao Bao, and Bei Bei when the birthday boy came along in August of  2020. Mei Xiang then became the second oldest panda in the world to give birth – of note also is the number of offspring she has, considering the low survival rate of panda cubs. She’s expected to join her son for the birthday breakfast this weekend.

This is a part of the zoo’s 50-year celebration of the breeding, conservation, care, and study of giant pandas. Five decades ago , Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted the first two giant pandas to the zoo, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. The gift has sparked “pandemonium” over the years as D.C. fell in love with our bear buddies.

Unfortunately, D.C. isn’t our panda friends’ forever home. In agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, any offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian (who came to D.C. in 2000) must return to China when they turn four. As exciting as it is to see young Xiao Qi Ji grow, it’s bittersweet knowing he’ll join his siblings soon.

Happy 2nd birthday to Xiao Qi Ji.DCist/WAMU / Courtesy of the Smithsonian's National Zoo
Xiao Qi Ji climbing on a tree.Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Zoo

But for now, let him eat cake! Visitors can join the 9 a.m. birthday festivities on Sunday with a live viewing and panda-themed merchandise to commemorate the occasion. The Zoo has free passes for an 8 a.m. entry, and visitors can reserve them in advance here.

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