Giant panda cub Bei Bei melts visitors' hearts as it makes public debut

There's a new giant panda cub in town and locals in Washington DC their spent their Saturday queuing up to get a first look at adorable Bei Bei at the five-month-old's public debut at the National Zoo.

The zoo's youngest giant panda cub was born last August and was named Bei Bei by US and Chinese First Ladies Michelle Obama and Peng Liyuan, which means 'precious' or 'treasure'.

According to the Daily Mail, visitors were allowed 50 at a time to view the cute animal, but some got right back in the queue to see him again.

He is the third surviving offspring for Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who also live at the zoo along with their second cub, Bao Bao, who was born in 2013.

A twin cub born the same day as Bei Bei died soon after birth.

Previously, Bei Bei could only be seen via the zoo's 24-hour Panda Cam.

As the giant panda house is popular, the zoo recommends arriving early to avoid the crowds and expecting long queues.

There are as few as 1,864 giant pandas living in their native habitat, while another 300 pandas living in zoos and breeding centres around the world.