High hopes

The zoo and the city has high hopes for Tai Shan, said Stevens.

This cub is now a "young healthy male on panda's terms" and will contribute to the conservation of the giant panda species, she said.

In fact, since its birth, the zoo has been preparing for the cub's departure.

"We provide him with an environment of changes and options and he is no stranger to travel. He is fully prepared for living in China," she said, adding the panda cub is "very confident and has shown great flexibility to adapt to new environment."

Tai Shan will be sent to Bi Feng Xia Panda Base in Ya'an, Sichuan Province of China.

Before its departure, it will be trained to enter and calmly remain in a specially designed crate for its flight to China, withsouvenirs he took from the United States.

Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, thanked the American public for their dedication and love for the Chinese panda cub, and assured them that Tai Shan will be taken good care of in China.

He invited panda fans to visit Tai Shan in China in the future and said the Chinese side will be in close contact with the UnitedStates on the cub's well-being.

Ambassador of friendship

Tai Shan and its family are not only an important icon for the zoo and the city, but also represent the goodwill of the Chinese people toward the United States.

Stevens said many Americans became willing to know more about China after they fell in love with the cute panda cub.

"He is an ambassador of friendship," she told Xinhua.

The curator said she believes there will always be a presence of panda in the zoo and hopes that Tai Shan's parents could produce more offspring while they are in the United States.

In fact, giant pandas have been playing a unique role in promoting the relations between the United States and China for decades.

Soon after then US President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972, China sent a giant panda couple, Ling Ling and Xin Xin, to the US National Zoo as a gift from the Chinese people.

The death of the couple in the 1990s saddened the whole nation.

In 2000, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in Washington, taking over the "friendship ambassador" role played by Ling Ling and Xin Xin for many years.

There are now 13 Chinese giant pandas living in four zoos in the United States.