National Zoo panda cub named Xiao Qi Ji or 'Little Miracle'

摘要

More than three months after his birth, the National Zoo's new panda cub finally has a name. Officials at the Smithsonian Institution, which runs the zoo, announced yesterday that the cub born Aug. 21 would be named Xiao Qi Ji (shee-OW-chee-jee), which is Mandarin Chinese for "little miracle." The choice was the result of a five-day online poll that drew nearly 135,000 voters to choose among different Mandarin names. In a nod to Chinese tradition, the name was not chosen until 100 days after the birth. Yesterday's announcement came on the day the zoo shut its doors to the public for the second time this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Smithsonian officials announced last week that the zoo and the seven museums that had been operating at limited capacity would all shut down indefinitely as the virus continues to spike locally and around the country.