Two giant pandas touched down in Atlanta on a chartered FedEx Boeing 777 — a plane so closely watched that it topped FlightRadar24's tracking charts as it cruised past Alaska. The male, Ping Ping, and the female, Fu Shuang, both born in 2020, left Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and, after a 16-hour flight across the date line, landed in Georgia on a Sunday morning in late September. Their in-flight menu? Steamed corn buns, bamboo shoots and carrots.

The arrival was timed to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, where the loan was formally announced. It's the latest chapter in China's long-running practice of lending pandas abroad as soft-power ambassadors — a tradition stretching back to 1972, when a pair was gifted to Washington after Richard Nixon's visit to China. The new loan runs for 10 years, with Zoo Atlanta as host.

There's history here. Atlanta first welcomed Chinese pandas in 1999, and seven cubs were born at the zoo over the years — all now returned to Chengdu. But since 2024 the zoo's panda habitat has sat empty, which makes this homecoming a genuine event for the city. Zoo president Raymond King called it a historic moment for Atlanta and Georgia.

The zoo has been busy preparing: renovated panda facilities, a dedicated caretaking team, and a long-term bamboo supply grown locally — Atlanta's climate, it turns out, closely resembles Chengdu's. US keepers with panda experience even accompanied the pair on the flight.

If you're planning a visit, temper your timing. The bears won't be on view straight away. They'll spend roughly a month in quarantine in a biosecure area of the zoo before meeting the public, so check Zoo Atlanta's updates before you book. Once they emerge, they should be a fixture for a decade — giant pandas in captivity typically live around 30 years, so six-year-old Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are entering their prime viewing years.

For animal lovers and families, this is one of the more compelling reasons to put Atlanta on a US itinerary over the next few years. The zoo sits in Grant Park, easily paired with the city's other highlights, and panda viewing is included with standard admission once quarantine ends. Given how popular these loans tend to be, expect busy mornings and consider weekday visits.

Whether panda diplomacy smooths diplomatic relations remains to be seen, but for travellers the practical outcome is simple: one of America's few panda habitats is back in business.

Story via Daily Sabah Travel.