ATLANTA, Ga. — Zoo Atlanta opened Friday to the first public viewing of giant pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, closing a two-year stretch without the animals that had long been among the zoo’s biggest draws.
The six-year-old pair appeared at a ribbon-cutting for the Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove. The $6 million space includes pools, waterfalls and climbing gear, along with indoor rooms where the bears can get out of harsh heat or cold. Visitors lined up Friday as the pandas ate bamboo and rested in the renovated grove.
They reached Atlanta in September, about six weeks ago, on a decade-long loan from China, then spent roughly a month in required quarantine while they settled in. Both were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and later raised at a research sanctuary before a 16-hour trip to the city. Ping Ping is male and Fu Shuang is female.
The zoo’s earlier panda group went back to China in 2024 after 25 years in Atlanta, leaving the enclosure empty until this fall. Only three zoos in the country now exhibit giant pandas, and Zoo Atlanta is one of them. The new pair is expected to remain here for the next decade.
Chinese ambassador to the United States Xie Feng spoke at a Friday morning news conference and said the arrival renews a long bond between China and Zoo Atlanta. He said he trusted the zoo’s care would keep the animals healthy in their new home.
Saturday’s gates opened at 9 a.m., with large crowds expected through the first full weekend of public viewing.
