Crowds hustle in to see Zoo Atlanta’s newest pandas on debut day
Zoo Atlanta set up a VIP ceremony Friday morning to officially debut the two new giant pandas from China with speeches, a ribbon-cutting and no shortage of grip-and-grin photos.
But Ping Ping, the male panda, was dutifully unimpressed with the hoopla behind him. In the nearby outdoor closure, he snoozed, his body splayed out, stomach down, head facing away from prying cameras, leaves falling gently around him.
His female compatriot Fu Shuang in a separate den room was far more amenable for photo ops, happily munching stalks of bamboo near glass windows separating her from the mob of press.
Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the United States who flew in from Washington D.C. for the occasion, said the “two panda envoys are much weightier than me.” He then lauded Georgia as “the most fertile state in the United States.”
He wasn’t talking humans. (Georgia is 26th in birth rate in that area, according to the CDC.) Ping Ping and Fu Shuang’s Zoo Atlanta predecessors Lun Lun and Yang Yang generated seven offspring during their 25 years at the zoo before China brought them back home in 2024 at the relatively geriatric ages of 27. That offspring count is among the highest for captive pandas over the 50-plus years of Chinese panda diplomacy.
Former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue was the most notable local luminary at the event. He recalled meeting Lun Lun and Yang Yang’s first child, Mei Lan, 20 years ago. “I got to weigh and measure the little cub, who was 14 pounds,” said Perdue, before adding, “I’m glad my degree as veterinarian came in handy as governor.”
Later on the plaza outside the main entrance, more than 200 panda-lovers waited to enter as the clock ticked toward the special opening time of 10:30 a.m. A zoo employee sold portable battery-powered panda head bubble blowers as a gentle breeze carried bubbles over the crowd.
Jessica Cwik of Lithonia, a zoo member since moving to Atlanta from Wisconsin five years ago, arrived at 9:30 a.m. and was first in line. She clutched a small panda plushie, one of 15 she owns.
“I have cared about pandas since I was 8 years old,” she said. “I got into pandas and Chinese art and calligraphy. I have always loved those fluffy little potatoes.”
When the doors officially opened, Cwik scurried to the renovated Arthur M. Blank Panda Grove and beelined to Ping Ping, still asleep. “The new space is gorgeous,” she said. “The fountains are so pretty.”
After checking out Fu Shuang, who had climbed to a top platform and taken a nap herself, Cwik walked over to a nearby area where the Chinese embassy was handing out free panda swag. To receive the bag of goodies, she had to answer 12 trivia questions. “I teamed up with another panda fan to answer them,” she said.
She was thrilled by what she received: a panda-themed headband, a fan, a mousepad, a key-chain and a sticker. “The only thing I didn’t do was get free panda nail art because I already had some,” she said.
At the Panda Pagoda merch shop, Cwik held off on buying another panda plushie but couldn’t resist a $12 panda rubber ducky.
Karen Strickland, 66, of Cartersville was so overcome with emotion when she first saw Fu Shuang, she cried.
After a few minutes, she composed herself and got back in line to see Fu Shuang again.
“I’m so happy to have pandas back in Atlanta,” Strickland said. “Zoo Atlanta has done an incredible job. They are utilizing the space better for both the pandas and the people who view them.”
Her emotional connection to pandas goes back to when she received a stuffed panda bear when she was 5. She kept that bear for decades until a storm crushed her home in 2020 and tore it to bits.
But that didn’t impact her passion for pandas. For years, she’d drive an hour from Cartersville almost every weekend to visit them.
Strickland didn’t cry when she had a second chance to see Fu Shuang Friday, but she remained in awe. “Oh my gosh, she’s so beautiful,” she said. “It takes my breath away.”
Moments later, Fu Shuang woke up and folks began buzzing. “She’s coming down!” a young child exclaimed as the panda shimmied from her upper platform sleeping area and ambled over to the crowd. She plopped down, back to the glass, and began eating bamboo right in front of Strickland, who captured the moment on video.
Sarah Hamilton, a Zoo Atlanta employee assigned to manage the crowd and provide info about the pandas with a portable microphone, noticed the attendees in front of Fu Shuang were becoming a little too rapt and slowing the line.
“To keep things moving,” Hamilton told them, “we need everyone to take one step to the right, a panda shuffle to the right. OK. One, two, three!”
The 20 people in front of Fu Shuang complied ― to a degree.
Strickland held her ground for another minute or two before reluctantly ceding her spot. Moments later, she showed her video to her panda-loving friends.
“She came to see me!” Strickland said.