Xing Ya (#879)

⚠️ Not the Chengdu Xing Ya: This page is Xing Ya (星雅, #879) — a male born 2013-08-05 at Ya’an Bifengxia, who has lived at Ouwehands Dierenpark in the Netherlands since April 2017. The other Xing Ya on this site is a different individual: Xing Ya (星雅, #681), a female born 2007-08-13 at the Chengdu base, twin of Xing Rong (#680), who has never left China. Fan archives nickname this Netherlands male “Xing Ya Er Shi (星雅二世)” — that nickname refers to this page (#879).

Basic Profile

Xing Ya (Chinese: 星雅, “elegant star”), studbook number 879, is a male giant panda born on August 5, 2013 at the Ya’an Bifengxia Base. His father is Yuan Yuan (园园, studbook 488) — the panda commonly known as Fu Bao’s grandfather, a son of Liang Liang — and his mother is Zhuang Mei (壮妹, studbook 712). His twin sister is Xing An (星安, #880) — born the same day at Bifengxia, she later moved to Jiangsu’s Nanshan Zhuhai.

His siblings include Jin Bao Bao (金宝宝, #941), Chu Xin (初心, #1020), Xiao He Tao (小核桃) and Xing An (星安, #880). Keepers describe him as an active, playful “sunshine boy” who loves running and climbing trees.

Journey to the Netherlands

In 2015, a 15-year China–Netherlands panda conservation agreement was signed during the state visit of Dutch King Willem-Alexander. Xing Ya was selected alongside female Wu Wen (武雯, #884) to become the first pandas ever to reside in the Netherlands.

On April 11, 2017, the pair departed from Wolong Shenshuping Base aboard a KLM dedicated flight to Amsterdam; the 15-year residency began on April 12, 2017, at Ouwehands Dierenpark in Rhenen, where the Forbidden City-inspired panda palace “Pandasia” (€5.1 million, 9,000 m²) awaited them. Their public debut took place on May 30, 2017. The loan runs 15 years, with return to China scheduled for 2032.

Fatherhood

• Fan Xing (梵星) — daughter, born May 1, 2020, the first giant panda ever born in the Netherlands, named after Van Gogh (page).
• Lang Yue (朗月) — born July 12, 2024, the second Netherlands-born cub.

Xing Ya continues to reside at Ouwehands Zoo as of 2026.

Cross-checks

• His father Yuan Yuan (#488) is the same panda recorded as the sire of Qing Shan (#786) with Mei Qing — see Qing Shan (青山, #786).
• His mother Zhuang Mei (#712) is also the dam of Jin Bao Bao (#941), matching that page’s parentage.