YA YA, a panda who arrived in the United States 20 years ago as a symbol of China’s friendship with America, has returned to China amid online nationalistic fervor and concerns over her care and condition at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee.
The zoo denies mistreating the panda, but an intense online campaign called for Ya Ya’s return to China.
Chinese social media users and animal welfare activists welcomed news of her arrival in Shanghai.
Despite the controversy, China is likely to continue its policy of loaning pandas to the US to provide an alternative to the deteriorating relationship between the two countries.