Huan Lili

Basic Profile

Huan Lili (Chinese: 欢黎黎) is a female giant panda born on August 2, 2021, at ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, France. Her birth weight was 149 grams, rising to almost 6 kg by her hundredth day.

She is the elder twin of Yuan Du Du (圆嘟嘟). Their parents are Yuan Zi (园子, also known as 圆仔, studbook 736) and Huan Huan (欢欢, studbook 723), who arrived at Beauval Zoo in 2012. Her older brother is Yuan Meng (圆梦), the first giant panda born in France, and her paternal grandmother is Yuan Yuan (园园, studbook 561).

Birth

Huan Huan entered oestrus in late March 2021 and was artificially inseminated on March 21, 2021. A pregnancy with two cubs was confirmed on July 23, 2021. Huan Lili was born at 07:05 on August 2, 2021, five minutes before her sister Yuan Dudu at 07:10.

Naming Ceremony (November 18, 2021)

On the twins’ hundredth day, Beauval Zoo held a naming ceremony at the “China Summit” (中国之巅) panda house, decorated with red lanterns, stone lions and hexagonal pavilions in traditional Chinese style. More than 120,000 French internet users took part in the zoo’s online vote, choosing from five candidate name pairs; “Huan Lili” and “Yuan Dudu” emerged with the most votes.

More than a thousand guests attended, among them the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in France (Yu Jinsong), a French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the president of the Centre-Val de Loire regional council, the prefect of Loir-et-Cher, and Beauval Zoo’s director.

Zhang Jiaqi, Chinese Olympic diving champion, and Kylian Mbappé, French football star, served jointly as the twins’ namers (命名人) — described at the ceremony as a cross-sector collaboration between the two countries in ecology and sport. Both spoke of the twins as a symbol of China-France friendship.

Her name combines “欢” (Huan) from her mother Huan Huan with “黎黎” (Li Li) from Paris (巴黎). Her sister’s name combines “圆” from their father Yuan Zi with “嘟嘟” from Chengdu (成都).

Appearance

Huan Lili has a longer muzzle and fluffy fur, more closely resembling her father Yuan Zi.

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Life at Beauval

Public Debut

On December 11, 2021, Huan Lili and Yuan Du Du made their first public appearance in the “China Summit” panda house — around the mid-December date the zoo had forecast at the naming ceremony.

1st Birthday (August 2, 2022)

The twins celebrated their first birthday with special treats at the zoo. By that age Huan Lili weighed approximately 60 kg.

Juvenile Years

She is described as quick, agile, curious and endlessly playful. By around her hundredth day she could already crawl freely and was close to walking, and she often sleeps in the indoor glass room.

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Current Status

Huan Lili and Yuan Du Du still live at Beauval Zoo. Their parents Yuan Zi and Huan Huan returned to China on November 25, 2025 after Huan Huan was found to have kidney impairment, ending more than ten years in France. On December 4, 2025, during French President Macron’s visit to China, a new cooperation agreement was signed extending the twins’ stay in France to the end of the January 2027 programme.

On October 9, 2026, Beauval Zoo announced on its official social media that the five-year-old twins will return to China in December 2026. Keepers have begun crate entry-and-exit training ahead of the long journey.

Huan Lili can be viewed at the “China Summit” area of Beauval Zoo, with both indoor glass viewing and outdoor access.