A sign along the National Zoo's Asia Trail outside the Giant Panda Habitat confirmed what many visitors already suspected Wednesday. The Zoo's most famous residents, giant pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, were already gone.
The beloved giant pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., are leaving for China on Wednesday morning, almost one month earlier than their stay's expiration date.