New giant pandas from China arrive in Atlanta zoo
Zoo Atlanta said giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday morning.
Two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, have recently arrived at the Atlanta Zoo as part of an agreement between Chinese and American governments. The zoo confirmed the arrival on Sunday, with the pandas traveling to the U.S. via a dedicated FedEx Panda Express Boeing 777 aircraft. Raymond B. King, the zoo's president and CEO, expressed his excitement about welcoming the pandas, stating that it's a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the city and beyond.
Visitors will have to wait a month for the pandas to be released from quarantine in a biosecure area of the zoo's new giant panda complex. The pandas' specific opening date has not been confirmed yet.
The announcement came during President Xi Jinping's three-day summit with President Trump. China has been using pandas as a means of diplomacy globally, with the bears deployed in loan programs as expressions of goodwill. Currently, two other U.S. zoos, the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo, also have pandas, which were also loaned by China in 2024. The 10-year agreement allows Ping Ping and Fu Shuang to stay at Zoo Atlanta, born in 2020 and kept at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
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