'Jubilant day'

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the debut of the two new pandas made it a "jubilant day" for Washington.

"Like many Washingtonians, I've always known (it as) a city of pandas, and we want to keep it that way," she said, adding that the panda pair will be "rooting for the home team" when it comes to boosting tourism in the US capital.

Helen Gonzalez, who has been a fan of several generations of giant pandas at the zoo, said she traveled to China twice to see the pandas.

"It really is a way to connect people with a whole new culture and history," she said. "I think people come here and they make this connection with an animal, with a culture they otherwise wouldn't see."

On Friday morning, the zoo relaunched its Giant Panda Cam, a network of 40 cameras operated centrally by a corps of specially trained volunteers.

The webcams operate live from 7 am to 7 pm eastern time. After 7 pm, the day's recording is replayed for virtual visitors from around the world who wish to watch the antics of the playful pandas.