After two decades at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, USA, female giant panda returns to his native China. Although residents of the Tennessee capital are already expressing their dissatisfaction with the act of a cute bear, activists animal rights and the Chinese public cannot hide their joy.

Activists raised concerns about the health of Ya Ya after videos were posted showing the female’s fur always looking plucked and the animal looking emaciated. Two US animal rights groups have been campaigning for months to secure Ya Ya’s repatriation to China, blaming zoo officials for the death of Ya Ya’s companion, Le Le, a few months ago.

The zoo has steadfastly denied cruelty to Chinese animals, which Chinese authorities have confirmed. The campaign has resonated with the Chinese public and the issue is buzzing on social media. Outraged Chinese netizens are analyzing zoo videos for signs of bear abuse, while others question China’s “panda diplomacy”.

This original Beijing diplomatic tactic was first used in 1972, when China’s then leader Mao Zedong promised to give two of these animals to US President Nixon. In 1984, China – the only country where pandas live in the wild – signed an agreement to send such bears to the West for a period of ten years. Today, zoos in 18 countries have “borrowed” pandas. Analysts believe that the image of a benevolent and cute mammal gives China a significant diplomatic advantage.

Ya Ya, who turns 24 this month, is completing her second 10-year “job” in Memphis, arriving in Tennessee with the late Le Le in 2003. On Tuesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for her Chinese foreign ministry, said a Chinese expert and two Beijing Zoo staff were working with Memphis to prepare a translation of Ya Ya. Wang said.

The U.S. federal authorities have not yet given an exact date for Ya Ya’s trip, as the export clearance is being delayed due to paperwork. However, earlier this week, Memphis Zoo staff threw a farewell party for Z-Z. The group included a goat, a turtle, an anteater, a sloth, a hedgehog and a penguin, the inhabitants of the zoo. The “Party” I I was taken to her cage, where they all ate bits of bamboo, the panda’s favorite treat.