Zoo Atlanta has giant pandas again. Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport early Sunday, September 27, aboard a FedEx Boeing 777 the company calls the Panda Express.
Both pandas were born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China. They arrive under a 10-year agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the Associated Press reported.
“This is a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond,” said Raymond B. King, the zoo’s president and CEO.
Not on view yet
The pair will spend about a month in quarantine in a biosecure area of the zoo’s new giant panda complex. No public opening date has been set. The zoo’s website says the pandas “are not yet visible” and asks visitors to “stay tuned for exciting details on when Members and guests will be able to meet them.”
Atlanta residents had been waiting. “We’ve been waiting, we’re so excited,” Carolyn Vrable told Atlanta News First.
A 25-year history
Zoo Atlanta’s first panda agreement began in 1999. Over the 25 years that followed, Lun Lun and Yang Yang had seven cubs before returning to China in October 2024, ABC News reported.
The new arrivals make Zoo Atlanta one of three U.S. zoos with giant pandas, and the only one in the Southeast. The San Diego Zoo welcomed Yun Chuan and Xin Bao in 2024.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking about the pandas at the White House on Thursday, September 24, called the giant panda “an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and Americans,” according to ABC News.
Sources
- Associated Press via WSLS, 2 giant pandas arrive in Atlanta under a US-China government agreement (Sept. 27, 2026)
- ABC News, Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrive in Atlanta from China (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Atlanta News First, Pandas arrive at Zoo Atlanta: What to know about Ping Ping and Fu Shuang (Sept. 27, 2026)
- Zoo Atlanta, Giant Panda
