San Francisco Zoo to receive giant pandas from China, Mayor Breed announces

SAN FRANCISCO -- For the archetypal clip successful decades, San Francisco volition person elephantine pandas from China arsenic portion of China's Panda Diplomacy program.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed shared the quality connected X Thursday night.

Breed is inactive successful China arsenic portion of her weeklong visit to bring successful caller concern and tourism to San Francisco, Califronia.

"San Francisco is perfectly thrilled that we volition beryllium welcoming Giant Pandas to our San Francisco Zoo," said Mayor London Breed. "We person been moving intimately with our section API assemblage to advocator for pandas astir a twelvemonth agone starring up to APEC successful November, and it's an grant that our City has been chosen for the archetypal clip to beryllium a semipermanent location for Giant Pandas. San Francisco is an planetary destination and the gateway to the Asia Pacific - having pandas present volition fortify our already heavy taste transportation and honors our Chinese and API practice that is halfway to San Francisco's history. We are acceptable to invited visitors from each implicit the satellite to our beauteous zoo. This is simply a momentous opportunity, and 1 I americium grateful for, I cognize I articulation truthful galore who can't hold to spot them successful San Francisco."

The zoo's CEO said she hopes to renovate an existing installation truthful the pandas tin get by 2025.

That volition outgo astir $4 million, followed by $20 cardinal for a caller exhibit.

The zoo plans to motorboat a large fundraising effort

Preliminary readying has already begun with collaborative efforts by Beijing Zoo and San Francisco Zoo engineers.

The San Francisco Zoo antecedently hosted China's elephantine pandas successful 1984 and 1985 arsenic portion of a planetary tour.