Giant pandas arriving in Atlanta aboard a FedEx Panda Express Boeing 777 for Zoo Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Atlanta just welcomed two very unusual international arrivals.
Giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, September 27, after traveling from Chengdu, China, aboard a dedicated Boeing 777-F nicknamed the “FedEx Panda Express.”
The arrival officially brings giant pandas back to Zoo Atlanta after the zoo’s previous pandas returned to China in 2024.
And this wasn’t exactly your average cargo flight.
The Panda Express Takes Flight
FedEx provided the dedicated Boeing 777-F and donated the full cost of transporting the pandas. The company also coordinated ground transportation and specialized logistics once the animals arrived in Atlanta.
Before departure, the pandas were accustomed to their transport enclosures to help prepare them for the international journey. The move required coordination among animal-care teams and logistics specialists on both sides of the Pacific.
Ping Ping is a six-year-old male, while Fu Shuang is a five-year-old female. Both came from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
They’re Staying for 10 Years
The pandas aren’t simply visiting.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are expected to remain at Zoo Atlanta under a 10-year arrangement connected to a new International Cooperative Research Agreement on Giant Panda Conservation between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Their arrival makes Zoo Atlanta one of only three U.S. zoos currently housing giant pandas, alongside the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the San Diego Zoo. Atlanta is also the only zoological organization in the Southeast currently home to the species.
Don’t Rush to the Zoo Just Yet
There’s one catch for panda fans hoping to see them immediately.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are undergoing a routine quarantine period of approximately one month inside a biosecure section of Zoo Atlanta’s new giant panda complex. The zoo plans to announce their public debut separately.
That gives the pair time to acclimate after their international move while animal-care teams closely monitor them.
Atlanta Has a Long History With Pandas
For Atlanta, this is more of a reunion than an introduction.
The zoo’s previous giant pandas, Lun Lun and Yang Yang, arrived in 1999. Their family eventually produced seven cubs before Atlanta’s previous pandas returned to China in 2024.
The new arrivals restore a connection between Atlanta and giant pandas that stretches back more than two decades.
There’s also a diplomatic dimension.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced days before their arrival that Ping Ping and Fu Shuang would soon travel to Atlanta, describing giant pandas as symbols of friendship between China and the United States. Giant panda exchanges have long been associated with what is commonly called “panda diplomacy.”
Politics aside, Atlanta now has two furry new residents, an enormous custom flight behind them and potentially a decade of panda watching ahead.
And as international arrivals go, it’s difficult to beat two giant pandas showing up on their own Boeing 777.
Zoo Atlanta’s official announcement
FedEx’s Panda Express announcement
About the Author
