The Smithsonian’s National Zoo parted with its beloved giant pandas Wednesday, ending the furry inhabitants’ nearly 23-year stay in the nation’s capital.

The zoo said that father Tian Tian, mother Mei Xiang and 3-year-old Xiao Qi Ji will catch a flight from Washington Dulles International Airport around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The panda family will be taken to the Wolong Panda Reserve in Chengdu, China, where they will be cared for.

“There’s certainly a level of sadness that the pandas are leaving there,” Bryan Amaral, the senior curator at the National Zoo, told WTOP when the departure was first announced last month. “We’re saying ‘so long’ to some old friends. But there’s no question that there’s a sense of achievement.”

China has loaned its native pandas to the U.S. as a form of diplomatic goodwill over the past half-century. The exchange started in 1972 following President Richard M. Nixon’s historic trip to China.

The first two pandas sent to the U.S. — Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing — died without any surviving offspring, so the Chinese government loaned Tian Tian and Mei Xiang in December 2000.

The pair had four cubs during their time stateside, with each panda being sent to China once they turned 4 years old. Previous panda departures include Tai Shan in 2010, Bao Bao in 2017 and Bei Bei in 2019.

Wednesday’s departure for the family comes as the current panda-sharing contract between China and the U.S. has expired.

The Atlanta Zoo is now the only place in the country where Americans can see pandas. That zoo’s contract with China expires late next year.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.