The panda pandemoniumhas hit Atlanta!
Panda pair Fu Shuang and Ping Ping, Zoo Atlanta's newest residents, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sept. 27 for the start of their 10-year loan from China, making the zoo now one of only three locations in the U.S. to house the fluffy giants.
The partnership restarts the International Cooperative Research Agreement on Giant Panda Conservation between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, one that was on pause after Zoo Atlanta's last pandas were sent back to China in 2024.
But, the new arrivals aren't quite ready for guests.
Here's when visitors can finally see the new giant pandas.
When can visitors see the pandas?
Following a routine but mandatory quarantine period, the pandas will be on
display in the new Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove starting on Friday, Nov. 6, Zoo Atlanta announced Tuesday.
The newly expanded and renovated habitat builds on the existing panda zone at Zoo Atlanta, but with $6 million in upgrades.
“This is a momentous occasion in Zoo Atlanta history. We are overjoyed to introduce Ping Ping and Fu Shuang and the all-new Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove to our community, City of Atlanta, State of Georgia, and beyond on November 6. Members and guests who recall the original giant panda habitat will know immediately upon entry that they are in for an entirely new experience,” Raymond B. King, President and CEO of Zoo Atlanta, said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, and our incredible philanthropic community for their long-term support, investment in, and vision for the giant panda program at Zoo Atlanta.”
Didn't Zoo Atlanta already have pandas?
Fu Shuang and Ping Ping are stepping into panda-sized shoes left behind by Lun Lun and Yang Yang, Zoo Atlanta's first panda pair that arrived in the city in 1999.
Between 2006 and 2016, the pandas welcomed seven offspring who made their homes at Zoo Atlanta before reaching a certain age and making the journey back to China. The research agreement was only set for 25 years, so in 2024, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, and their two youngest cubs, Ya Lun and Xi Lun, were sent back to China and Zoo Atlanta's panda habitat was left empty.
All pandas abroad continue to be owned by China, and are only ever on loan to other nations. A new agreement between the United States and China for their pandas was announced in April, but it was unclear when the pandas may actually return to Atlanta.
The future of "panda diplomacy" was uncertain after the 2024 election when President Trump and China's President Xi Jingping were at odds with one another. The new pandas, however, have arrived shortly after a summit between the two leaders, in which Jingping said the loan program was a sign of "friendship between the Chinese and Americans."
How did the pandas get to Atlanta?
Like any VIP (very important panda), Ping Ping and Fu Shuang were treated to a private chartered flight directly from China to Atlanta. The "FedEx Panda Express" Boing 777 aircraft landed in Atlanta early in the morning on Sept. 27.
The flight and transportation was donated from FedEx, and was specially curated to keep the pandas safe and comfortable. In video shared by FedEx, the flight is seen landing at Hartsfield-Jackson, and a crate with airholes along the top edge being carefully lowered from the plane.
Then, the pandas were strapped into a FedEx truck where they made the roughly 10 mile journey from the airport to Zoo Atlanta.
The city is no stranger to large-animal logistics.
At the beginning of August, two male beluga whales rescued from the shuttered Marineland aquatic park in Ontario, Canada were shipped to Atlanta on a cargo plane to join other belugas at the Georgia Aquarium.
UPS Airlines also helped out the Georgia Aquarium back in 2007 when two juvenile whale sharks, previously rescued from a fish market in Taiwan, were shipped on a plane more than 8,000 miles in specialized life support tanks.
Irene Wright covers Zoo Atlanta as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When can you see the Zoo Atlanta pandas? November debut date announced
