Ji Lan

Ji Lan (studbook number 1036) is a female giant panda born on 27 June 2016 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Her mother is Chuang Chuang and father is Mei Lan, with her lineage tracing back to wild giant panda populations native to Sichuan province, a key core habitat for the species historically. As a cub, she received standard veterinary care and species-appropriate socialization at the Chengdu facility, part of the national ex-situ conservation framework for giant pandas that supports the long-term viability of captive populations. She resided at the Chengdu base for the first year of her life, reaching key developmental milestones for juvenile giant pandas under the care of base research staff.

On 27 June 2017, her first birthday, Ji Lan was transferred to Nanning Zoo in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where she remains housed as of 2024. She is one of more than 600 captive giant pandas held in accredited conservation facilities across China, and participates in two core coordinated programs operated by the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center: the national captive breeding program for giant pandas, which is designed to preserve and expand the genetic diversity of the captive population to reduce inbreeding risk, and Nanning Zoo’s public giant panda education initiative.

Ji Lan is noted by zookeepers for her calm yet active demeanor, and regularly interacts with species-specific enrichment items placed in her enclosure to encourage natural foraging and exploratory behaviors. She draws thousands of local residents and tourist visitors to Nanning Zoo each year, with her public presence serving as a tangible educational tool to raise awareness of giant panda conservation challenges. Visits to see Ji Lan at the zoo also support broader public engagement with efforts to protect wild giant panda habitats in the Qinling and Minshan mountain ranges, where approximately 1,800 wild giant pandas reside as of the latest national species survey.