Giant pandas are back in Atlanta

The latest: Male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang arrived early Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and were transported to Zoo Atlanta, the zoo said in a press release.

• The pandas are in Atlanta under a new conservation research agreement between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

• Zoo Atlanta is one of three zoos in the U.S. — and the only one in the Southeast — with giant pandas.

What they're saying: Zoo Atlanta president and CEO Raymond B. King said in a statement the facility is excited to work with the Association "to see important work continue toward the conservation of giant pandas, which is the most important benefit of guarding this species."

Catch up quick: Zoo Atlanta announced earlier this year that the pandas would be returning but didn't specify when.

• China's President Xi Jinping confirmed Thursday during a meeting with President Trump that the pandas would be arriving at the zoo.

Zoom in: China has long loaned pandas abroad as a sign of goodwill, and Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are the first at Zoo Atlanta since its previous pandas returned to China in 2024.

• Both were born in 2020 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Yes, but: China has also used pandas as soft-power leverage when foreign relationships turn frosty.

• The National Zoo's pandas returned to China in 2023 when their agreement expired amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over security, economic and humanitarian issues. A new pair arrived a year later under a new agreement.

What's next: Visitors won't be able to see the pandas just yet. They'll have to undergo a routine quarantine that lasts about a month, Zoo Atlanta said.

• Their public debut date hasn't yet been released.