Giant panda Xiang Xiang climbs a stump on her first birthday at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on June 12, 2018.

People line up outside the Ueno Zoo Wednesday. On Thursday, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said that Xiang Xiang’s return, originally scheduled for the end of this year, would be difficult to achieve due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pedestrians walk past a poster of Xiang Xiang on Wednesday. Tokyo has held a number of farewell events for the 3-year-old giant panda, whose scheduled departure was made public last year.

Xiang Xiang (left) plays at the zoo in June 2018.

Xiang Xiang’s mother Shin Shin pulls her in an enclosure in December 2017.

Xiang Xiang eats bamboo during a press event at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Dec. 18, 2017. She made her public debut a day later.

Hundreds of visitors flock to the Ueno Zoo to see Xiang Xiang as a cub in February 2018.