Two Giant Pandas Arrive in Atlanta as China Goodwill Gesture

Elena Vasquez · 2026-09-27T23:20:30.495Z

It's great that Atlanta gets pandas again under this loan deal. The city zoo always draws big crowds for them.

Two Giant Pandas Arrive in Atlanta as China Goodwill Gesture — Photo: Aaron Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 1.0)

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Two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, arrived Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport aboard a specialized FedEx-branded Boeing 777. They left Chengdu Shuangliu Airport at 2:55 a.m. China time. Born in March and October 2020, the pair enters a 10-year conservation and research agreement at Zoo Atlanta and will quarantine about a month before public viewing. A farewell ceremony preceded their departure. Xi Jinping announced the loan at a welcoming ceremony ahead of his White House summit with Trump. He called it "a piece of good news" and an example of "friendship between the Chinese and Americans," adding that "in a few days, two pandas will come to their new home at Zoo Atlanta and meet the American people." He termed them "messengers of friendship." Zoo Atlanta president Raymond B. King called the day "thrilling" and "historic" and said "We are thrilled to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and look forward to sharing this joy with our visitors and community in the coming weeks." Prior Atlanta pandas returned in 2024 after 25 years; joint research since 1999 produced over 50 papers and seven Atlanta cubs. National Zoo and San Diego Zoo received pairs in 2024. Rated coverage is single-sourced to one left outlet. CONTESTED: none found among rated outlets.