Pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived at Zoo Atlanta after flying from Chengdu

Male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang left the panda breeding center in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan province, on Saturday. After a nearly 16-hour flight, the FedEx plane landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, CNN reports.

The pandas were then transported in special crates to the zoo, assisted by the police. Once there, the animals were taken to a new complex for giant pandas.

Zoo Atlanta said Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will be placed under routine quarantine in a biosecurity area. This period is expected to last about a month. Only later will the garden announce the date when the enclosure will be made available to visitors.

Before the animals arrived, the zoo expanded and adapted the enclosures. Bamboo supplies were also provided and a team of caregivers specialized in caring for this species was prepared.

The return of pandas to Zoo Atlanta

This is the next stage of Atlanta's cooperation with Chinese institutions. In 2024, the zoo returned four pandas to China, ending a 25-year contract. The event was perceived as one of the symbols of tensions in Beijing's relations with Western countries.

Ping Ping was born on March 17, 2020, and Fu Shuang on October 18 of the same year. Chinese breeders chose the pair taking into account, among others: their health, age, genetics and temperament. According to information from Chinese forest authorities, the male is an efficient climber, and the female is particularly fond of eating honey.

Lending pandas to foreign zoos has been one of the symbols of Chinese diplomacy for decades. The first pandas arrived in the United States in 1972, shortly after President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China.

Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are the third pair of pandas to come to the United States in the last two years. In June 2024, the animals were brought to San Diego, and later another pair to the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington.