Ping Ping and Fu Shuang Arrive in Atlanta, Restoring Zoo's Giant Panda Program
ATLANTA — Two giant pandas from China landed in the United States on Sunday, arriving at Zoo Atlanta under a new 10-year loan agreement that restores the zoo's giant panda program and adds another chapter to the long-running tradition of panda diplomacy between Washington and Beijing.
Zoo Atlanta said Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived Sunday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport aboard a dedicated FedEx "Panda Express" Boeing 777. The zoo confirmed the arrival as part of an agreement between the Chinese and U.S. governments.
The animals' arrival followed an announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a three-day summit with President Trump in Washington. Xi said the pandas would be loaned to Zoo Atlanta and would arrive within days. The move was among the few concrete outcomes of the state visit.
Zoo Atlanta leaders welcomed the bears as a milestone for the city and the region. "This is a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia and beyond," Raymond B. King, the zoo's president and CEO, said in a statement on social media. "We are elated to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and could not be more excited about sharing that joy with our members, guests, city and community in the coming weeks."
Visitors will not see the pandas right away. Officials said the pair will spend about a month in quarantine in a biosecure area of Zoo Atlanta's new giant panda complex. The zoo has not confirmed a specific opening date.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are adult pandas born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Ping Ping, the male, has dark black circles around his eyes. Fu Shuang, the female, has a forehead that protrudes slightly. Both are on loan to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years.
The arrival marks a return for Zoo Atlanta, which had been part of a giant panda agreement with China for more than 25 years before saying farewell to its last pandas in 2024. That departure left the zoo without pandas for the first time in decades. A new agreement was announced in April, but it came without travel dates until this week.
For Atlanta, the loan is expected to provide a tourism and civic boost, drawing visitors from across Georgia and the Southeast and giving the zoo a marquee attraction once again. It also offers another avenue for conservation and research collaboration, even as panda loans remain closely tied to the broader rhythms of U.S.-China relations.
China has long used giant pandas as diplomatic messengers, lending the bears as expressions of goodwill and allowing loan agreements to lapse when tensions rise. Xi has described the loan program as an example of "friendship between the Chinese and Americans."
Two other U.S. zoos currently have pandas: the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo, both of which received pandas from China in 2024.