Two giant pandas from China arrived in the United States under an agreement between the Chinese and U.S. governments, Zoo Atlanta confirmed Sunday. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday morning aboard a dedicated Boeing 777 dubbed the “FedEx Panda Express.”
Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King called the arrival a historic moment for Atlanta and Georgia. In a social media statement, he said the zoo was delighted to welcome the pandas and looked forward to sharing them with members, guests and the community in the coming weeks.
Visitors will have to wait roughly a month. Zoo officials said the pandas will remain in quarantine in a biosecure area of the wildlife park’s new giant panda complex. The zoo has not announced a specific date for their public debut.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the loan during a three-day summit in Washington with President Donald Trump. Xi said the pandas would arrive in the coming days; the agreement was among the few concrete outcomes announced during the state visit.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are adult pandas being loaned to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years. Both were born in 2020 and lived at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Ping Ping is male and Fu Shuang is female.
Zoo Atlanta has participated in a giant panda agreement with China for more than 25 years. The zoo’s last pandas left in 2024, ending the animals’ presence there until this new pair arrived. In the United States, the National Zoo and the San Diego Zoo also received pandas from China in 2024.