Pandas Return to Zoo Atlanta: When Will Ping Ping and Fu Shuang Go on View?
ATLANTA — The giant pandas are back. After a two-year hiatus, Zoo Atlanta has welcomed two new bears from China: Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female. Both were born in 2020 and arrived Sept. 27, landing at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport early that morning.
The pandas will be the newest members of Zoo Atlanta and will help launch a new chapter of research and partnership between the zoo and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, working with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
The pair traveled aboard a FedEx-chartered Boeing 777 known as the FedEx Panda Express, a donation from the shipping company. The flight was designed to keep the animals safe and comfortable. Video shared by FedEx showed the plane landing in Atlanta and a ventilated crate being carefully lowered from the aircraft. From there, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang were strapped into a FedEx truck for the roughly 10-mile trip to the zoo.
They are not on public view yet. Zoo officials said the pandas will spend about a month in a biosecure area of the zoo’s new giant panda complex for routine quarantine. Zoo Atlanta has not announced an exact debut date, but it plans to share details later about the new habitat, its name and when members and guests can see the pandas.
A city accustomed to animal arrivals
Atlanta is no stranger to complicated animal logistics. In early August, two male beluga whales rescued from the shuttered Marineland aquatic park in Ontario, Canada, were flown to Atlanta to join other belugas at the Georgia Aquarium. UPS Airlines also helped the aquarium in 2007, when two juvenile whale sharks rescued from a fish market in Taiwan were flown more than 8,000 miles in specialized life-support tanks.
Why Atlanta’s pandas left — and why they’re back
Zoo Atlanta’s best-known panda pair, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, arrived under the original panda agreement in 1999. Between 2006 and 2016, they had seven cubs. As part of the agreement, the younger pandas returned to the research base in China when they reached a certain age. By October 2024, only Lun Lun, Yang Yang and their two youngest cubs, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, remained. But the panda loan had always been intended to last 25 years. The final pandas were eventually sent back to the Chengdu Research Base, ending full-time panda residency in Atlanta.
All giant pandas abroad remain the property of China and are loaned to other countries. A new agreement between the United States and China was announced in April, but at the time it was unclear when pandas might actually return to Atlanta. Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would send two giant pandas to the zoo. The new agreement with Zoo Atlanta is set to last 10 years.
The arrival comes at a delicate moment for U.S.-China relations. After the 2024 election, the future of panda diplomacy seemed uncertain as President Trump and Xi were at odds. The new pandas arrived shortly after a summit between the two leaders, where Xi described the loan program as a sign of friendship between the Chinese and American people.
How panda diplomacy began
The first panda ambassadors came to the United States in 1972, following President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China. Over the decades, relations between the two superpowers have ebbed and flowed, but panda loans have mostly remained a consistent sign of goodwill. The practice is believed to date back to the seventh century, when Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Zetian sent bears to Japan, according to History.com. Giant pandas are found only in southwest China and are considered a national treasure there.
In 1984, China began allowing pandas to be hosted abroad on 10-year loans, with an annual fee of $1 million. Cubs born overseas would remain Chinese property. In 1988, the United States said it would pay the fee only if half of the proceeds went to conservation efforts. A 2008 earthquake in Sichuan province destroyed much of the pandas’ natural habitat and China’s largest conservation center. China began sending pandas overseas for breeding and research, and loans were often tied to trade deals, especially with European countries.
At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian delighted visitors for 23 years after arriving in 2000. In August 2020, the pair had a cub, Xiao Qi Ji. The panda family returned to China in 2023, and there were concerns that rising U.S.-China tensions might spell the end of panda diplomacy. The National Zoo had been without pandas for the first time since 1972. That changed when Bao Li, a male, and Qing Bao, a female, made their public debut on Jan. 24, 2025, months after arriving from Chengdu. They replaced Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji, whose lease expired in November 2023.
Earlier generations left their own mark. Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, the pandas given to the United States after Nixon’s 1972 trip, were among the first animal stars of panda diplomacy. Ling-Ling died in 1992 of heart failure at age 23. Hsing-Hsing, who suffered from kidney disease and other health issues, was euthanized in 1999 at age 28.
What’s next for Ping Ping and Fu Shuang
Ping Ping earned his name alongside his twin brother; together, the names are meant to represent a blessing for a smooth and happy life. Fu Shuang was named after her mother and a word meaning happiness.
The pandas will live in the former panda exhibit at Zoo Atlanta, which has been upgraded for a new generation of pandas. For now, they will remain behind the scenes during quarantine. Zoo Atlanta said it will make future announcements about the new arrivals, including the name of their new home, design details of the expanded habitat and the date when members and guests can expect to see them.
This story was originally reported by USA TODAY.