Ping Ping and Fu Shuang have landed in Atlanta, bringing giant pandas back to the city’s zoo after a two-year absence.
Two giant pandas have arrived at Zoo Atlanta, returning the beloved bears to the city for the first time since 2024. Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport just before 7 a.m. on Sunday, September 27, after a long journey from China.
The pandas traveled aboard a dedicated FedEx flight from Chengdu, in southwestern China, having departed the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the early hours of the morning. A motorcade then carried them from the airport to their new home at the zoo, where preparations had been underway for weeks.
Their arrival was met with excitement in Atlanta. A banner displayed at the zoo over the weekend read, “The future home of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang,” and staff welcomed the pair as the start of a new chapter for the city’s long connection with the species.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang Settle Into Their New Home
The two pandas will live at Zoo Atlanta on a 10-year loan, part of a conservation cooperation agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association. The deal was first announced in April 2026, and the pandas’ arrival marks its formal beginning.
Both bears were born in 2020 at the Chengdu breeding base. According to CNN, Ping Ping’s name means “peace,” while Fu Shuang’s means “double blessings.” The two have distinct features that help visitors tell them apart. Ping Ping has dark black circles around his eyes, while Fu Shuang has a forehead that protrudes slightly.
In preparation for the move, the pair spent about a month in quarantine with a team of live-in carers who helped them adjust ahead of the journey. Their keepers describe Ping Ping as brave and gentle, offering an early glimpse of the personalities Atlanta visitors will come to know.
Guests hoping to see the pandas will need to wait a little longer. Zoo officials said the bears will need time to settle into their new surroundings before going on public display, a standard step that allows the animals to acclimate at their own pace.
A New Chapter in Atlanta’s Panda History
The arrival revives a connection that Atlanta held for a quarter of a century. Before Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, the city’s panda story centered on a single beloved family that lived at the zoo for 25 years.
The original pair, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, arrived from China in 1999 and became local celebrities. They lived at Zoo Atlanta until their 25-year loan agreement expired in October 2024, when they returned to China along with their youngest cubs, leaving the zoo without pandas for the first time in decades.
During those years, Zoo Atlanta built one of the most respected panda programs in the world. Its work not only made the bears a major attraction but also transformed how zoos everywhere care for pandas, contributing to a deeper understanding of the animals’ biology and behavior.
The addition of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang makes Atlanta one of only a handful of US zoos to house giant pandas, a status that reflects the rarity of the animals outside China. The species remains a conservation priority, and loan programs like this one are tied to research and breeding efforts aimed at protecting the bears.
Zoo Atlanta President and CEO Raymond B. King welcomed the new arrivals warmly, saying the zoo was elated to welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and looked forward to sharing that joy with members, guests, and the wider community in the coming weeks. The pandas’ debut is expected to draw crowds once the pair are ready to meet the public.
