National Zoo Celebrates Qing Bao’s 5th Birthday With a Groovy ‘Panda Party’

The festivities drew hundreds of onlookers, who watched as keepers surprised Qing Bao with a special frozen birthday treat made from fruits and vegetables.

The National Zoo celebrated the 5th birthday of its female giant panda, Qing Bao, by throwing her a "panda party" Saturday, Sept. 12, at the zoo’s David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat.

The 9 a.m. festivities drew hundreds of onlookers, who watched as keepers surprised Qing Bao with a special treat from the zoo’s commissary team: a panda-friendly ice cake made from fruit juice. 

The party was styled a "QB-Dooby-Doo" theme, fitting Qing Bao’s nickname of "QB." The cake — shaped like a van — was topped with decorative elements like carrot flower "decals" and a frozen "5" cake topper filled with carrot, sweet potato, plum, apple and pear.

"Qing Bao has really come into her personality over the past year," said giant panda keeper Mariel Lally. "Visitors may think of her as being a little bit more reserved and regimented compared to Bao Li, but she is actually quite goofy and quirky."

A small crowd of reporters gathered to cover the event, and the Chinese Embassy hosted family-friendly activities nearby, including face-painting, calligraphy and panda-themed trivia. Thousands more tuned in at home as the celebration streamed on the zoo’s Giant Panda Cam, which airs a daily feed of the bears’ habitats between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Qing Bao — whose name translates roughly to "lush, verdant green" and "precious treasure" in Mandarin — has spent the past two years growing into her role as one of the nation's most closely watched zoo animals. Saturday's party was the second birthday Qing Bao has celebrated in Washington, D.C., since she and her male counterpart, Bao Li, made their debut amid fanfare in January 2025.

Even at the National Zoo, panda birthdays are celebrations that don’t come often: Qing Bao is one of just five giant pandas currently living in North America. With less than 2,000 giant pandas living in the wild, the species spent a quarter-century on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's endangered species list before being downgraded to “vulnerable” in 2016, a shift credited to sustained breeding and habitat-protection efforts in China.

Growing Up Panda

It’s been an eventful few years for Qing Bao, who arrived in Washington, D.C. in October 2024 alongside Bao Li. Keepers say her personality has evolved considerably: once a shy "sub-adult" — roughly the panda equivalent of a teenager — Qing Bao is now approaching full adulthood.

She retains some of her cub-like habits, including an affinity for climbing trees, but keepers have also noted a growing interest in Bao Li, whom she occasionally greets at the shared viewing door between their yards. Giant pandas typically reach sexual maturity between 4 and 7 years of age, though they usually aren't ready to breed until 5 or 6 — putting Qing Bao right at that threshold.

Milestones from Qing Bao’s First Two Years at the Zoo

Jennifer Zoon | Read More

Jennifer Zoon is a communications specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and visited the Smithsonian museums often. None captivated her more than the Zoo, which instilled a lifelong love of animals, science and conservation. Jennifer shares that passion for wildlife by telling the Zoo’s stories, introducing others to the Smithsonian’s animals and efforts to save species around the world. She earned a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in creative writing from Dickinson College.

Mike Bock | Read More

Mike Bock is a content writer for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, where he focuses on animal care, conservation science and research.