Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed in Atlanta on Sunday after a trans-Pacific flight from Chengdu, restoring giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta nearly two years after its previous animals returned to China.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
ATLANTA — Two giant pandas from China arrived in Atlanta early Sunday to begin a 10-year stay at Zoo Atlanta, returning the animals to the Georgia institution nearly two years after the end of its previous panda program.
Ping Ping, a 6-year-old male, and Fu Shuang, a female who will turn 6 in October, landed aboard a chartered FedEx Boeing 777 shortly before 7 a.m. local time following a flight from Chengdu in southwestern China, according to Chinese state media. Their journey lasted roughly 16 hours and crossed the international date line.
The pair had departed Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at about 3 a.m. Sunday local time, following a farewell ceremony organized by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where both animals were born and had been living.
Their aircraft drew substantial attention during the trip. The FedEx-operated Boeing 777 became the most-tracked flight on aviation website Flightradar24 as it approached Alaska roughly midway through its journey.
The pandas were supplied with steamed corn buns, bamboo shoots and carrots during the flight. Experienced American animal keepers accompanied them, while Chinese veterinarians and breeders were also involved in preparations surrounding the transfer.
Zoo Atlanta is receiving the animals through a new International Cooperative Research Agreement on Giant Panda Conservation with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The zoo announced the agreement in April and said both pandas were born at the Chengdu Research Base.
Ping Ping was born March 17, 2020, while Fu Shuang was born Oct. 18, 2020, according to Zoo Atlanta.
Chinese officials said the two animals were selected after consideration of their health, age, genetics and temperament. Officials involved with the breeding program have expressed hope that the pair will eventually reproduce naturally.
Zoo Atlanta spent months preparing for their arrival.
The facility renovated its giant panda areas and worked with Chinese counterparts on changes to the animals’ indoor and outdoor accommodations. The remodeled areas include larger indoor spaces as well as additional habitat features, platforms and pools intended to give the pandas more opportunities to explore and rest.
The zoo also arranged a long-term supply of locally grown bamboo. Giant pandas eat almost exclusively bamboo despite being members of the carnivore order, and Atlanta’s climate allows the plant to be grown locally.
Zoo Atlanta had not announced when Ping Ping and Fu Shuang would make their public debut. Newly arrived zoo animals typically undergo a period of quarantine and acclimation before being introduced to visitors.
The pandas had already spent about a month in quarantine in China before leaving Chengdu and underwent training intended to prepare them for transportation, including becoming accustomed to their travel crates and loud noises associated with the flight.
The arrival reestablishes a giant panda presence at Zoo Atlanta after a nearly two-year absence.
Atlanta’s first giant panda agreement with China began in 1999 with the arrival of Lun Lun and Yang Yang. Over the next 25 years, the program produced seven cubs between 2006 and 2016. The agreement concluded in 2024.
Lun Lun, Yang Yang and their twin daughters Ya Lun and Xi Lun left Atlanta for China on Oct. 12, 2024. They arrived the following day at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Giant pandas kept in captivity can live for about 30 years, considerably longer than many pandas survive in the wild.
The return of pandas to Atlanta also carries diplomatic significance.
Although the new agreement was reached months earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly announced during his visit to Washington on Thursday that Ping Ping and Fu Shuang would soon be arriving in Atlanta. Xi described the panda program as an example of friendship between Americans and Chinese.
Xi’s announcement came during a summit with President Donald Trump in Washington. The two leaders discussed trade, artificial intelligence and other longstanding areas of disagreement between the United States and China. They extended an existing trade truce and agreed to establish an artificial intelligence hotline, although the visit did not resolve several major disputes between the two countries.
The impending panda arrival was one of the most visible symbolic gestures during Xi’s visit.
China has used giant pandas for decades as part of what has become known as “panda diplomacy,” lending the animals to foreign zoos under conservation and research agreements that can also serve as symbols of diplomatic relations.
The practice has a long history in U.S.-China relations.
Following President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972, Beijing gave the United States two giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. The animals became fixtures at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington and helped establish pandas as a highly visible symbol of the developing relationship between the two countries.
Modern arrangements differ from those early gifts. China generally retains ownership of pandas sent overseas and places them abroad under time-limited conservation agreements.
The current U.S. panda population has expanded again after a period in which several longstanding agreements expired. Two giant pandas arrived at the San Diego Zoo in 2024, followed later that year by another pair at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington.
China’s panda arrangements have also drawn attention during periods of deteriorating diplomatic relations.
Japan’s last two giant pandas, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, returned to China in January, leaving Japan without giant pandas for the first time since 1972. Their departure had been scheduled under the existing agreement, but it occurred during a period of sharply strained relations between Beijing and Tokyo following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments that Japan could respond militarily if a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatened Japanese security.
China reacted angrily to Takaichi’s remarks, while Japanese officials maintained that the comments were consistent with the country’s security laws. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and opposes foreign military involvement in a potential conflict across the Taiwan Strait; Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claim.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Jan. 27 and subsequently arrived in China’s Sichuan province, where they entered quarantine.
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