Courtesy of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
The panda-monium was reawoken Thursday when Chinese President Xi Jinping was at the White House for talks with President Trump. In his opening remarks, Jinping said two pandas would soon arrive in Atlanta, within days, as an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and American people.
While the public was made aware back in April that new pandas—which are rare at zoos in the U.S.—would come from China, the exact timing of their arrival was unknown. Jinping’s comments Thursday threw the panda press into a frenzy. When would the lovable black-and-white bears arrive? Panda lovers everywhere pleaded to know.
Well, they have arrived.
They arrived via a dedicated FedEx plane dubbed the Panda Express yesterday, Sunday September 27. The Boeing 777 aircraft, which was donated for the transport, carried two giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang. Ping Ping’s name, says the zoo’s press release, represents a blessing for a smooth and healthy life. Fu Shuang’s name (pronounced Foo Shwong) comes from “Fu Lu,” a reference to her and her mother meaning “happiness”. The pandas were born in China at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on March 17, 2020, and October 18, 2020, respectively.
Courtesy of FedEx
The exchange was coordinated by a new International Cooperative Research Agreement on Giant Panda Conservation initiated between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
It’s not the first time the lovable black-and-white bears have been used in diplomacy. For 25 years, Zoo Atlanta was home to Lun Lun and Yang Yang who also gave birth to twin offspring Ya Lun and Xi Lun. The bear family was beloved by Atlantans for years—Atlantans who were heartbroken when the pandas were sent back to China in October 2024 as the long-standing loan agreement with China concluded.
Right before the bears left, fans from far-and-wide came to say goodbye. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Rodney Ho noted one couple drove three hours from Columbia, S.C., because they’d gotten hooked on the panda cams during the pandemic. A woman who had donated to the original campaign to bring the pandas also came to say goodbye. Sam Rivera, the zoo’s vice president of animal health, flew to China with the pandas to see them off.
Courtesy of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
“It was sad and very emotional,” he told me in 2025, but noted he knew they were going to a good facility.
After the pandas were gone, their enclosures and dedicated retail stands at Zoo Atlanta sat quiet and empty, awaiting the day they could once again be buzzing with visitors to see pandas munch on bamboo.
Fun Fact. Did you know Zoo Atlanta even had a team of “Bamboo Hunters” that traveled around Atlanta to gather bamboo for the bears? A hotline allowed callers to report bamboo they wanted to donate, and Georgia Power would call as they had patches to cut down. When the Zoo Atlanta had four pandas, the hunters harvested roughly 500 pounds a day, Rytis Daujotas, Zoo Atlanta’s kitchen manager once told me. Unconfirmed, but surely the hunters will be back in action soon.
So what happens next now that Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are here? The bears will be housed in a biosecure area of Zoo Atlanta’s new giant panda complex for a routine quarantine period of roughly a month. Zoo Atlanta will announce more as the plan unfolds. Stay abreast of all things panda on the Panda Page on zooatlanta.org.
Courtesy of FedEx
