BEIJING — Two giant pandas have left China on a flight bound for Atlanta. That’s according to CNN and Chinese state media Saturday night.
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They departed Chengdu, in southwestern China, at 2:55 a.m. Sunday morning local time, China’s state news agency Xinhua said.
Ping Ping and Fu Shuang were born at China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in 2020. Fu Shuang celebrates a birthday just weeks from now.
The flight comes a day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington ended.
The move revives a relationship between Zoo Atlanta and China that spans more than 25 years.
Yang Yang and Lun Lun, along with their two youngest cubs, returned to China in October 2024, ending Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda era and leaving the zoo without pandas for the first time in decades.
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