Atlanta has its pandas back. Two six-year-old giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, made their public debut at Zoo Atlanta on Friday, and they marked the occasion the way pandas do best: by munching bamboo, lounging in their new home and letting long lines of smiling visitors do all the fussing.
The debut ended a two-year wait. Zoo Atlanta said goodbye to its previous pandas in 2024, and the zoo has felt the gap ever since. On Friday morning, families pressed against the glass at the newly opened Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove as the pair explored, ate and settled in like they owned the place. From now on, they do.
Meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang
Ping Ping is the male, and his name means “peace.” Fu Shuang is the female, and her name means “double blessing.” Both were born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, Ping Ping in March and Fu Shuang in October, and keepers hope the two will prove to be a good match in time.
Their road to Atlanta was a long one. The pair flew in on September 27 aboard a FedEx flight nicknamed the “Panda Express,” then spent the weeks since in quarantine and quietly getting used to Southern air, new keepers and a brand new habitat before meeting the public.
A $6 Million Welcome Mat
The pandas did not just get a new home. They got a renovation. The Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove is a $6 million rebuild of the zoo’s panda habitat, funded by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and named for Arthur Blank, a supporter of the zoo’s panda program since it began in 1999.
The grove gives the pandas expanded indoor spaces, new climbing structures, pools and calm water features, all designed around how pandas actually live. It is a fitting homecoming for a program with deep roots in the city. Atlanta first hosted pandas in 1999, seven cubs were born at the zoo over the years, and Zoo Atlanta is now one of only three zoos in the United States with giant pandas, and the only one in the Southeast.
The pair are here under a 10-year loan and conservation research agreement between Zoo Atlanta and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, so Atlanta families can plan on panda birthdays, panda winters and, with luck, panda cubs for years to come.
Planning a Visit
Expect crowds this opening weekend, November 7 and 8, as the whole city seems to have the same idea. Zoo members get a head start with Members-Only Panda Mornings, entering at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and at 8 a.m. from November 9 through November 22, before the zoo opens to everyone else.
If you go, give the pandas their best hours. Giant pandas are usually most active in the morning, when they eat, climb and explore before a long afternoon nap. Arrive early, bring your patience for the line, and let Ping Ping and Fu Shuang do the rest. For more weekend ideas and feel-good stories, browse our Lifestyle coverage.