Two Giant Pandas Arrive in Atlanta as Part of U.S.-China Agreement

BANGKOK (AP) — Two giant pandas arrived in Atlanta on Sunday morning as part of an agreement between the Chinese and American governments. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang departed Chengdu in southwestern China early Sunday aboard a dedicated "FedEx Panda Express" Boeing 777 aircraft, officials said. A new agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association makes Atlanta one of three zoos in the U.S. to house giant pandas, along with the San Diego Zoo in California and the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King stated, "This is a thrilling day for Zoo Atlanta and a historic moment for the City of Atlanta, the state of Georgia, and beyond. We are elated to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and could not be more excited about sharing that joy with our Members, guests, city, and community in the coming weeks." Zoo visitors will have to wait to see Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, as the bears will be quarantined for about a month in a biosecure area of the wildlife park's new giant panda complex. Park officials have not confirmed a specific opening date. The pandas' arrival was announced Thursday by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a three-day summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. The loan of the pandas was one of the few concrete outcomes of the state visit, which saw expressions of goodwill between the leaders, but no fixes to any of the long-standing differences between the two countries. Atlanta last housed pandas in 2024, leaving the zoo without the bears. The new agreement was announced back in April, but without any dates. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will be on loan to Zoo Atlanta for 10 years as part of the agreement. Both pandas were born in 2020 and were kept at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Ping Ping, the male, has dark black circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang, the female, has a forehead that protrudes slightly, according to the Xinhua News Agency. China has long used pandas as part of its diplomacy globally, deploying the bears in loan programs as expressions of goodwill and allowing loan agreements to lapse when tensions arise. Xi stated that the loan program exemplifies "friendship between the Chinese and Americans."