Zoo Asks For Song Recommendations To Accompany Panda Traveling Via Private Jet
By Yimin Huang, 18 Nov 2019

Image via MrNikolay / Shutterstock.com
Bei Bei the giant panda seems to enjoy a luxury lifestyle unavailable to most people. The giant panda from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in DC is traveling to China in his own Boeing 777F private jet named the Panda Express.
Bei Bei is getting further VIP treatment as handlers will be serving him his favorite food during the long flight.
That’s not all. The zoo is even asking for song suggestions to be used in a “mixtape” for the trip, urging social media users to swap the word “baby” in song titles to the name “Bei Bei” instead.
Twitter users have already begun making suggestions, and they are adorable. Bei Bei, It’s You and Bei Bei, Love are just some of the titles.
Bei Bei was born at the zoo based in the United States back in 2015, but a contract with China maintains that cubs born there have to travel back to China at age four, as stated in the zoo’s official website.
The farewell ceremony for Bei Bei involved numerous events at the zoo, and fans from all over the US visited him for the last time before he left, per WJLA.
FedEx has even placed giant panda-themed decals on the private jet, along with 66 pounds of bamboo, snacks and water to ensure Bei Bei has a bon voyage.
The agreement is part of the National Zoo and China’s conservation project for the endangered giant panda species.
If you were a giant panda taking a 16-hour flight to China, what would you want on your playlist? As we say #ByeByeBeiBei with our @NationalZoo, we invite you to change "baby" to "Bei Bei" and share your picks with #BeiBeiMixTape. pic.twitter.com/2n5VuLiXBG
— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) November 15, 2019
Not quite pop songs, but we have to add a little @Folkways to the mix. This educational record came out in 1973: https://t.co/nCFY2FNvO9#BeiBeiMixTape pic.twitter.com/vzDYecu3Rw
— SmithsonianFolklife (@SmithsonianFolk) November 15, 2019
"Back in BeiBei's Arms"#BeiBeiMixTape #ByeByeBeiBei
— Postal Museum (@PostalMuseum) November 15, 2019
©USPS; all rights reserved. pic.twitter.com/J4bm4RYIUs
"BeiBei Please Don't Go"#BeiBeiMixTape #ByeByeBeiBei
— Postal Museum (@PostalMuseum) November 15, 2019
©USPS; all rights reserved. pic.twitter.com/zZ3hOVeYdz
"Cry BeiBei" #BeiBeiMixTape #ByeByeBeiBei
— Postal Museum (@PostalMuseum) November 15, 2019
©USPS; all rights reserved. pic.twitter.com/TNHWcGnYLi
🎶 Santa BeiBei slip some bamboo under the tree for me 🎶#ByeByeBeiBei #BeiBeiMixTape pic.twitter.com/ld18WXOzPl
— PBS Digital Studios (@PBSDS) November 15, 2019
US-born male giant panda Bei Bei is scheduled to depart the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington D.C. for China on Nov 19. An online and on-site series of farewell events kicked off on Monday and will run through next week. pic.twitter.com/ULiTutgteF
— Beautiful China (@PDChinaLife) November 12, 2019
[via CNN, cover image via MrNikolay / Shutterstock.com]