People Are Literally Waiting 6 Hours in Line Just to See Bao Li & Qing Bao – Panda Fever is BACK in America!

Washington, D.C. – November 2025 update: If you thought the panda craze died when Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji flew home in 2023… think again. The National Zoo’s newest superstars, 3-year-old Bao Li and Qing Bao, have turned the Smithsonian into absolute pandemonium – and Americans are losing their minds over these fluffy black-and-white ambassadors!

The Return of the Rolls: A Quick Recap

After a heartbreaking 14-month “panda drought” (the longest in over 50 years), Bao Li (the bold, playful boy whose name means “precious vitality”) and Qing Bao (the shy, tree-loving girl meaning “green treasure”) arrived from China in October 2024. They spent months in quarantine chilling on bamboo and getting VIP treatment.

Then, on January 24, 2025, they made their public debut – and the internet (plus D.C.) exploded.

Yes, People Are REALLY Lining Up for 6+ Hours

From day one, the lines have been insane. We’re talking:

• Fans camping out before sunrise (some arrived at 4 AM!).
• Queues snaking all the way down Connecticut Avenue on weekends.
• Reports of 4–6 hour waits just to spend 10–15 minutes watching them munch, roll, and climb.
• One visitor told reporters: “I waited 5.5 hours in the cold… worth every second when Bao Li did a full somersault!”

The zoo is free, but you need timed-entry passes (which sell out in minutes), and the Asia Trail/panda habitat gets packed fast. Weekends? Forget it – it’s like trying to get Taylor Swift tickets.

Zoo officials say attendance has skyrocketed – they gained over 1,000 new members just from the announcement, and daily visitor numbers are through the roof. One staffer joked: “We’ve had more people here in the first month than some zoos get in a year!”

Why Everyone is Obsessed (Again)

• Bao Li is the ultimate extrovert: Bold eye patches, loves toys, talks (bleats?) to keepers, and puts on shows – think snowball fights and inner-tube juggling.
• Qing Bao is the chill queen: Fuzzier face, spends hours up in trees like a fluffy koala, total introvert vibes.
• Bonus: Bao Li is basically D.C. royalty – he’s the grandson of legendary residents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian!

The upgraded Giant Panda Cam (now with 40 cameras!) is live 7 a.m.–7 p.m. ET and has already racked up millions of views. People watch them sleep, eat 40 lbs of bamboo a day, and just… exist. It’s free therapy.

This is Bigger Than Cute Animals

It’s panda diplomacy at its finest – a 10-year loan from China that’s bringing joy (and tourism dollars) amid tense U.S.-China relations. Every panda birth, roll, or sneeze reminds us: In a divided world, we can all agree on one thing – pandas are perfect.

If you’re planning a visit: Book passes ASAP, go early (or weekday), and check the cam first to see if they’re active. Or just stay home and doomscroll the live feed like the rest of us.

America missed our pandas. Now they’re back… and we’re not letting them go without a fight (or a 6-hour line).

Who’s already planning their D.C. trip? Drop a if Bao Li & Qing Bao have stolen your heart too!