A pair of giant pandas landed in Atlanta on Sunday morning as they begin their 10-year stay in the United States thanks to a partnership with China.
The pandas, named Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, took off from Chengdu in southwestern China on Sunday morning aboard a specially designated Boeing 777 cargo plane dubbed the "FedEx Panda Express."
Under a newly finalized arrangement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the Georgia facility becomes one of only three American zoological parks hosting giant pandas, joining California's San Diego Zoo and Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
"This is a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond," Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement. "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."
The public will need to wait before catching a glimpse of the pair, according to zoo representatives. Both animals are entering a month-long quarantine inside a biosecure zone located within the park’s freshly built giant panda facility. An official public debut date has yet to be finalized by park officials.
Chinese President Xi Jinping initially disclosed the delivery on Thursday amidst a three-day bilateral summit involving U.S. President Donald Trump. Sending the animals proved to be among the few tangible results resulting from the diplomatic visit, which featured mutual displays of cordiality without resolving any deep-seated disputes existing between both nations.
The arrival fills a vacancy created when Zoo Atlanta said goodbye to its previous resident pandas in 2024. Although the underlying bilateral agreement was made public in April, specific timeline details were previously omitted.
The 10-year loan contract guarantees Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will remain at Zoo Atlanta for a decade. Born in 2020, both animals previously resided at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The Xinhua News Agency noted that Ping Ping, a male, features distinct dark rings surrounding his eyes, whereas Fu Shuang, a female, possesses a slightly prominent forehead.
Beijing has long used pandas as diplomatic tools globally, utilizing loan arrangements as expressions of goodwill or allowing contracts to lapse when international tensions grow.
Xi previously described the loan program as demonstrating "friendship between the Chinese and Americans."
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