Two giant pandas from China have arrived in the United States and will spend about a month in quarantine before going on display at Zoo Atlanta.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday morning aboard a dedicated Boeing 777 known as the “FedEx Panda Express”, the zoo said.
The adult pandas, both born in 2020, are being loaned to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years under an agreement between the Chinese and American governments. They were transported from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Zoo Atlanta president and chief executive Raymond B King described their arrival as “a thrilling day” for the zoo and a “historic moment” for Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
Ping Ping, the male, is distinguished by dark black circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang, the female, has a slightly protruding forehead, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Visitors will not be able to see the pandas immediately. Zoo officials said the pair would remain in a biosecure area of the wildlife park’s new giant panda complex for roughly a month, although no public opening date has been confirmed.
The arrival follows an announcement by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a three-day summit with President Trump in Washington. The loan was one of the few concrete outcomes announced during the state visit, and Mr Xi described the programme as an example of “friendship between the Chinese and Americans”.
Zoo Atlanta had been without pandas since bidding farewell to its previous animals in 2024. It has been part of a giant panda agreement with China for more than 25 years, while two other American zoos – the National Zoo and San Diego Zoo – also received pandas from China in 2024.
China has used panda loans as part of its diplomacy around the world, presenting them as gestures of goodwill and allowing agreements to lapse when relations become strained.
