The key facts

  • Pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang were shown to the public at Zoo Atlanta for the first time on Friday
  • The animals arrived from Chengdu on September 27 aboard a FedEx flight dubbed the

First public appearance

Two giant pandas from China were shown to visitors at Zoo Atlanta for the first time on Friday: the male Ping Ping and the female Fu Shuang ate bamboo in front of a queue of onlookers. The six-year-old animals arrived from the Chengdu base on September 27 aboard a FedEx flight, dubbed the Deutsche Welle.

Partnership renewed after a break

The pandas moved into an enclosure that had stood empty since 2024, when a 25-year partnership ended under which Atlanta had hosted four pandas on loan since 1999. The cooperation was interrupted back then amid a cooling of US-China relations; seven pandas born at the zoo over those years now live in Chengdu. The loan was renewed under a 10-year agreement concluded after the Washington summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. China's Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng called the pandas' arrival

Context of

China traditionally lends pandas to foreign zoos as a diplomatic tool — a practice known as panda diplomacy; cubs born abroad are usually returned to China. Three zoos in the United States now keep pandas. Ahead of the new residents' arrival, Zoo Atlanta renovated the pavilion and secured a long-term supply of local bamboo.