Ping Ping

Basic Profile

⚠️ One of three pandas named Ping Ping This page is Ping Ping (平平), studbook #1230 — the male born at the Chengdu Research Base in 2020 who is heading to Zoo Atlanta with Fu Shuang (福双, #1250). Two other pandas share his name: Ping Ping (#704), a female born in 2008 now living at Shunan Bamboo Sea, and Ping Ping (#951), a male born in 2015 living at Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo — neither is going to the United States.

Ping Ping (Chinese: 平平), whose nickname is Re Gan Mian (热干面, “hot dry noodles”), is a male giant panda born on March 17, 2020, at the Sunlight Nursery (太阳产房) of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. He holds the global studbook number 1230.

His birth weight was 159.8 grams (his twin brother weighed 119.5 grams) — the earliest birth time recorded in the base’s history, and the pair were the base’s first captive-born giant panda twins of 2020.

Appearance & Personality

Ping Ping is stocky and well-built, with large, dark, boldly defined eye rings that make him easy to recognize. He is agile and an especially good climber, and often rests up in the forks of tree branches.

Family

Relation	Name	Studbook
Mother	Mao Mao (毛毛, 福娃)	570
Father	Xiong Bang (雄浜)	540
Younger twin brother	Dan Hong Gao (蛋烘糕)	—
Brothers	Mao Zhu (毛竹), Mao Tao (毛桃), Da Mao (大毛), Mao Dou (毛豆)	—
Older sister	Mao Sun (毛笋)	—
Maternal grandfather	Ha Lan (哈兰)	—
Maternal grandmother	Ya Ya (娅娅)	—

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Naming — a Wuhan–Chengdu Tribute (2020-04-17)

On April 17, 2020, when the twins were one month old, the Chengdu Base announced their names together with the Sichuan medical teams that had worked in Hubei during the COVID-19 outbreak, through a live video link:

• Re Gan Mian (热干面) — Wuhan’s signature noodle dish — was chosen for the elder twin (乳名 Ping Ping / 平平) as a tribute to the anti-epidemic medical teams.
• Dan Hong Gao (蛋烘糕) — a Chengdu street snack — was chosen for the younger twin (乳名 An An / 安安), linking the two cities through their best-known foods.

At one month old, Re Gan Mian already weighed over 1,000 grams and Dan Hong Gao over 800 grams. The base presented adoption certificates and custom panda culture gift packages for the twins to the medical teams of Chengdu Medical College Second Affiliated Hospital · CNNC 416 Hospital (成医附二院·核工业四一六医院) and The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College (成都医学院第一附属医院).

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First Year (2020)

• 2020-03-17: Born at the Sunlight Nursery with twin Dan Hong Gao — the earliest birth time in the base’s recorded history
• 2020-06-03: The twins leave the incubator and move onto a wooden bed
• 2020-06-24: 100 days old, over 5 kilograms, passing feeding, body-length, chest-girth and crawling assessments
• 2020-09: Six months old; he grew up in the base’s cub villas alongside peers including Xiang Guo (香果, #1239), his twin Dan Hong Gao, and Chun Sheng (春生)

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Selection for Atlanta (2026)

In 2025, the China Wildlife Conservation Association signed a new giant panda cooperation agreement with Zoo Atlanta. On April 24, 2026, the association announced that Ping Ping (male) and Fu Shuang (female) — both from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding — would travel to the United States for a 10-year conservation partnership.

The same day, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jia Kun (郭嘉昆) answered a press question about the pair’s departure timing, saying that the new round of China-US giant panda conservation cooperation would contribute to panda welfare, endangered-species conservation capacity, global biodiversity protection, and friendship between the two peoples. No departure date was given.

On September 24, 2026, during a White House welcome ceremony, the arrival of Ping Ping and Fu Shuang at Zoo Atlanta was announced as due “in a few days.” The full timeline is covered in Ping Ping and Fu Shuang: The 2026 Return of Giant Pandas to Atlanta.

Departure for Atlanta (2026-09-27)

At 02:55 on September 27, 2026, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang (福双, #1250) boarded a charter flight at Chengdu Shuangliu Airport bound for Zoo Atlanta, beginning their 10-year conservation stay. Before the flight, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding held a send-off ceremony for the two pandas.

To keep the intercontinental flight safe and comfortable, the Chinese team drew up a detailed transport plan: fresh bamboo shoots, bamboo, apples and emergency medicines were loaded, and the pair had completed transport-acclimation training in advance to reduce stress. During the flight, cabin temperature and humidity were held within the pandas’ comfort range. A senior American veterinarian and keeper accompanied the pair on the plane, monitoring their condition and caring for their health and diet in real time, while two batches of Chinese veterinarians and keepers had already traveled to the zoo in advance to prepare.

After arrival at Zoo Atlanta, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang will undergo quarantine and inspection; Chinese personnel will remain at the zoo through the quarantine period, running stress-adaptation and behavior training to help them settle into their new environment.

Since December 2025, Chinese experts and Zoo Atlanta had held a series of online and offline meetings on upgrading the panda enclosures, with the Chinese side providing technical guidance on facilities, husbandry, food supply and health-care standards. In mid-September 2026, Chinese experts carried out on-site acceptance of the remodeled exhibits: significantly expanded indoor activity space, new climbing frames, rock platforms and pools, and an upgraded monitoring system covering both indoor and outdoor areas. Thanks to Atlanta’s climate similarity to Chengdu, the zoo can source a variety of edible bamboo locally, harvested fresh year-round.

Zoo Atlanta and its Chinese counterparts have now cooperated on giant panda conservation research for more than 20 years — over 30 joint research projects, 50+ published papers, and technical breakthroughs in breeding and cub-rearing, behavior research and disease control, with 5 litters and 7 cubs surviving — the best result achieved by China’s panda breeding cooperation with Europe and the United States.

Arrival in Atlanta (2026-09-27)

At 08:55 US Eastern time on September 27, 2026 (20:55 Beijing time) — the same day as their departure — Ping Ping and Fu Shuang landed safely at Zoo Atlanta. Immediately after the charter touched down, Chinese and American veterinarians and keepers carried out a joint inspection, and both pandas were found to be in good health. Following quarantine-clearance and customs formalities, they were transferred into Zoo Atlanta to begin their quarantine and inspection period.

Chinese veterinarians and keepers will remain at the zoo for three months, caring for the pair through quarantine, running stress-adaptation and behavior training, and helping them settle into their new home.