The pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. are leaving the U.S. today and heading back to China, the zoo confirmed to multiple media outlets.

USA TODAY is providing live coverage of the pandas' departure, which will begin at 11:45 a.m. ET. You can watch at the video at the top of the page or stream it live on USA TODAY's YouTube channel.

After spending 23 years in the U.S., the pandas Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji will begin their long journey back to China on Wednesday, marking the end of the animals' decades-long tenure in the country.

The pandas will be moved via forklifts into FedEx trucks, CBS News reported. They will then be transported to Dulles International Airport, and moved onto the "FedEx Panda Express," a Boeing 777F aircraft with a custom decal.

Their estimated departure from the airport, where they will fly back to China, is around 1 p.m. ET.

The D.C. pandas' departure comes after zoos in Memphis and San Diego have already returned their pandas to China.

The Atlanta Zoo pandas Ya Lun and Xi Lun will go back at the beginning of 2024, according to a news release by the zoo.

Why are the pandas leaving?

In 1972, the U.S. was given its first panda by China, after President Richard Nixon normalized relations with China. The gift of pandas from China was a practice that some have dubbed "panda diplomacy."

Negotiations between the National Zoo and China to extend the contract broke down as Beijing continues to slowly pull its pandas from Western nations due to declining relations, the Associated Press reported. Britain will also lose its pandas from the Edinburgh Zoo in December due to new contracts not being renewed, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said.

The pandas were originally expected to leave D.C. by early December, according to a news release from the zoo. But the zoo moved that deadline up, in line with a three-year contract the zoo has with the China Wildlife Conservation.

The Washington D.C National Zoo was offering free entry passes to see the pandas ahead of their departure.

Contributing: Zoe Wells, USA TODAY

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