How celebrity giant panda Ya Ya mirrored US and China's 20-year hot and cold relationship

After an extended getaway in the Memphis zoo in the US, the superstar giant panda Ya Ya has finally returned to her roots at the Beijing zoo. She spent a mind-boggling 20 years in America.

Ya Ya won't be making an appearance in front of the fans just yet. The 23-year-old panda needs some serious rest and recreation to adjust to her new surroundings. So, for the time being, she'll be chilling in private quarters fit for a queen.

Giant panda Ya Ya returns to the Beijing Zoo after two decades in the US https://t.co/XrVi67Vr53 pic.twitter.com/kC3hq9gTnp

— CNN International (@cnni) May 29, 2023

Welcome back Ya Ya!

The news of Ya Ya's homecoming caused a virtual frenzy on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo. A hashtag tracking Ya Ya's return racked up an astonishing 450 million views!

Celebrating the return, enthusiastic admirers expressed their confidence in Ya Ya's coming golden years, over her latest photos.

• Some thanked the Beijing zoo for taking care of the beloved bamboo muncher.

It seems that YaYa will back home now…. Hope we can see YaYa in BeiJing Zoo. Thanks for all of human beings angels who accompanied with YaYa everyday! Hope all the pandas can be treated with TRUE Love. pic.twitter.com/XY56qCGxTx

— LovewithYaYa (@YaLovewith) April 25, 2023

• Some of them compared her better conditions in Beijing to that of her stay back in Memphis.

After spending a month in Shanghai, the giant panda #YaYa returned to her birthplace in Beijing on Mon after being away for 20 years. Many internet users posted comparison photos of "Ya Ya in Memphis" vs "Ya Ya a month after returning to China," saying, "One month, a completely… pic.twitter.com/iRs8ZopJ2i

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) May 29, 2023

A bit about Ya Ya

• In 2003, Ya Ya and her friend Le Le embarked on an adventure from Beijing and Shanghai zoos to Memphis zoo in the US.
• By 2006, Ya Ya started shedding fur. Despite persistent efforts by experts from China and the States, the health situation remained more or less the same.
• After being repeatedly called by concerned visitors, the zoo decided to send the pandas back. The death of Le Le in February 2023 escalated the homecoming.
• After landing on April, 27, Ya Ya spent a month in quarantine with special meals of fresh bamboo from Chengdu and healthcare.

Let's look back

Like her entry into the United States in 2003 held a symbol of amity with a blossoming friendship between the two nations, Ya Ya's homecoming to China now represents a different narrative, one overshadowed by increasing hostility and suspicion.

• China's age-old Panda Diplomacy dates back to the seventh-century Tang Dynasty, and its later revival in the second half of the 20th century is well known.
• The tool, under Mao, was confined to communist and socialist allies. In the later years as communist China started opening up to the West, it used pandas to soften its image and concretize its geopolitical goodwill overseas.
• During Richard Nixon's historic visit to China in 1972, Mrs Nixon was reportedly charmed by a pair of pandas at the Beijing zoo. The pandas landed in Washington a few weeks later in a tactical portrayal of soft power. 
• Later, a few pandas were gifted to a number of countries in the West. 

Chairman Mao made President Richard Nixon a promise in 1972: He would send two pandas to the U.S.

The arrival of Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing ushered in 50 years of so-called panda diplomacy. But now, some are asking if the arrangement needs to change.https://t.co/vh4rqCQjBz

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 13, 2022

• With China's growing might in the 80s, it stopped giving out pandas for free. They started limited-period exhibitions for the takers before switching to ten-year-old leases to The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany for $10 million.
• Interestingly, Ya Ya was the last panda leased to the US. This reflects China's view of positioning itself and acting accordingly.
• In recent years with its growing might as a superpower, China is no longer a sleeping giant. Social media protests, pressure groups and campaigns against the deteriorating health of pandas in American zoos started flaring up often. Many a time there were allegations of mistreatment of pandas. 

The end of "panda diplomacy" 🐼 🇨🇳?#Chinadiplomacy #pandadiplomacy #chinaus #Leisrealtalk pic.twitter.com/bpkW6dqNjY

— Lei's Real Talk (@LeisRealTalk) February 22, 2023

• The fallout following the death of Le Le earlier this year, fuelled by the US-China trade wars, made the Chinese furious, demanding the immediate return of the fluffy goodwill ambassador from Beijing.

In a way, China's abandoning of Panda Diplomacy looks to be in line with its growing stature. Now China asking for the return of these pandas is also an example of Panda Diplomacy. However, this time the diplomacy is more assertive. Therefore, Ya Ya's return carries a weighty significance, reflecting the complex and evolving dynamics of China on the global stage.