The pandas left a breeding center in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, on Saturday. A FedEx aircraft landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a journey of nearly 16 hours, CNN reported. Police escorted the animals in special transport crates to Zoo Atlanta, where they entered a new giant-panda complex.
Zoo Atlanta said Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will undergo routine quarantine in a biosecurity area. The period is expected to last about a month. The zoo will announce an opening date for visitors after quarantine. Before the pandas arrived, the facility was expanded and adapted, bamboo supplies were assembled, and a team of keepers specializing in the species was prepared.
Ping Ping was born on March 17, 2020, and Fu Shuang on October 18 of the same year. Chinese breeders selected the pair with their health, age, genetics and temperament in mind. Chinese forestry authorities describe the male as an able climber and say the female is especially fond of honey.
The arrival continues Atlanta’s cooperation with Chinese institutions. In 2024, Zoo Atlanta returned four pandas to China when a 25-year agreement ended. At the time, the development was also seen as a symbol of tensions between Beijing and Western countries.
Panda loans to foreign zoos have been part of Chinese diplomacy for decades. The first pandas arrived in the United States in 1972, shortly after President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are the third pair to come to the U.S. in the past two years: pandas went to San Diego in June 2024, and another pair later arrived at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington.
The original video item attached to RMF24’s report has been retained without alteration; no transcript has been added.