Meng Da

Basic Profile

Meng Da (Chinese: 萌大, “Sprout Number One”), studbook number 894, is a male giant panda born on August 22, 2013 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. He is the firstborn twin of Meng Meng (萌萌) and Yong Yong (勇勇).

He belongs to arguably the most famous panda family in China:

Life at Beijing Zoo

Meng Da was transferred to Beijing Zoo’s Asian Games Pavilion at approximately one year of age, where he has lived ever since alongside his twin brother Meng Er.

The zoo’s official exhibit signage describes Meng Da as a “typical sunny boy” (典型的阳光大男孩) — a characterization that has become his defining identity. While Meng Er draws crowds with his striking white eye circles and theatrical bamboo-snapping grimace, Meng Da maintains a lower profile. He is the panda who lounges in the sun, eats his bamboo without fuss, and regards visitors with mild, unbothered friendliness.

His round physique and easy temperament make him a consistent favorite among Beijing Zoo’s regular visitors. He exhibits none of his brother’s eccentricities or his half-brother Meng Lan’s showmanship — he is simply a big, cheerful panda doing exactly what a big, cheerful panda should do.

Together, Meng Da and Meng Er form one of Beijing Zoo’s most popular exhibits: the odd-couple twins, one eccentric and one sunny, sharing adjacent enclosures in the Asian Games Pavilion.