Ming

Basic Profile

Ming (Chinese: 明, studbook 9), originally called Bei Bei (贝贝), was a female giant panda born in the wilds of Sichuan Province, China around 1937. She was captured by poachers at less than one year of age and sold multiple times before being acquired by American banker Floyd Tangier Smith, known as the “Panda King” for his extensive panda hunting expeditions in China.

The Journey to London

In 1938, Smith assembled eight pandas for shipment to the West. Due to the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War, the normal sea route from Shanghai was impossible. Smith instead organized a dangerous 35-day overland journey by truck from Sichuan to Hong Kong, through bandit-infested territory. One truck overturned during the journey, temporarily losing two pandas, and another cub died en route.

By the time the group reached Hong Kong for shipment to Europe, only five pandas remained. They arrived in London on Christmas Eve 1938 during a blizzard. The five pandas were named Grandma, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, and the youngest, called “Baby” (Bei Bei).

Life at London Zoo

London Zoo’s governing body, the Zoological Society of London, acquired the pandas. The youngest cub, Baby, was renamed Ming — along with two others named Tang (唐) and Song (宋) — by a sinophile on staff. Ming quickly became a celebrity, appearing in cartoons, postcards, toys, hats, swimsuits, and even early television programs.

During World War II, as German bombs fell on London, Ming became a vital morale booster for the British public. Chinese artist-writer Chiang Yee, then living in London, visited the zoo and wrote the illustrated children’s book The Story of Ming (1945). Ming was visited by Queen Mary and other members of the royal family.

As the Blitz intensified in 1940–41, Ming was evacuated to Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire for safety, though she was occasionally brought back to London to “meet friends.”

Death and Legacy

Ming died on December 26, 1944 at London Zoo. Two accounts exist: one says she died of unknown causes the day after Christmas, another says she died on Christmas Eve. At the time, she was suffering from hair loss.

Ming’s story inspired the 1981 Sino-Japanese animated film The Story of Panda (熊猫の物語). In 2015, during President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK, a bronze statue of Ming was gifted to London Zoo by China Daily, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the Shaanxi Tourism Group.