Social media users are expressing sadness but also sharing moments of joy over the Smithsonian National Zoo's beloved giant pandas, who began their trip back to China on Wednesday morning.

Giant pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their three-year-old cub Xiao Qi Ji left the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and arrived at Dulles International Airport. They will travel aboard the FedEx Panda Express on a 19-hour flight from Washington, D.C., to Chengdu, China, on their way to the China Wildlife Conservation Society.

SMITHSONIAN GIANT PANDAS LEAVE US FOR CHINA

Several social media users, local governments, and journalists took to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday to share memes, poke fun, and altogether say goodbye to the pandas as the zoo prepares to open for the first time in 23 years with the panda exhibit remaining closed.

Liz Charboneau, vice president of research at American Bridge 21st Century, posted a meme from the popular TV show Succession in response to a video showing the FedEx trucks carrying the pandas' crates to Dulles. The post has received over 105,000 views and over 1,500 likes.

Noah Sadlier, communications director for Rep. John James (R-MI), dubbed Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" over the same video.

Not passing up an opportunity to poke fun at Congress, the D.C. City Council posted a photo of the pandas on the district's flag, knocking the U.S. Congress for denying it statehood.

"We will greatly miss the pandas. They fit in so well here in DC. After all, they had the exact same vote in Congress the other 700K of us do," the City Council posted on X.

Martin Austermuhle, a former local Washington, D.C., reporter for over a decade, came up with an elaborate plan to keep the pandas in the district.

"We seem to be missing the obvious ways D.C. could keep the pandas: - FedEx 'loses' the shipment on the way to China. Hey, packages get misplaced all the time! - An intrepid porch pirate stole the pandas back once they were delivered in China. D.C.'s package thieves are daring," Austermuhle said.

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The pandas' stay in the U.S. was part of a partnership between the zoo's Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement and the China Wildlife Conservation Society. The pandas were expected to stay in the U.S. for 10 years as part of a $10 million deal with China, but the agreement was extended multiple times.

Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji's stay in the U.S. was set to expire on Dec. 7, but the zoo announced in October that they would leave sometime before Nov. 15. Under the original agreement, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian's cubs must be returned to China when they turn 4 years old. Though Xiao Qi Ji is only 3 years old, officials said in 2020 that it's in the cub's best interest to move with his parents.