Photograph courtesy Smithsonian s National Zoo.
Throughout this undeniably terrible year, pockets of levity provided a brief respite from the bleakness. The chief arbiter of joy in 2020? Xiao Qi Ji, the National Zoo’s baby panda. Without further ado, a look back at some of the cub’s cutest moments. (Spoiler alert: That’s pretty much everything he does.)
January
The year began auspiciously with a lack of baby pandas in Washington. We had just bid bon voyage to Bei Bei as he embarked for China via the Panda Express, leaving behind a bear-shaped hole in our city’s heart. Could 2020 get any worse?