Yi Xin

Yi Xin (Chinese: 怡欣) is a male captive-bred giant panda born on May 1, 2019 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, with the global giant panda studbook registration number 1181. He is the offspring of Xi Bang and Ying Ying, two captive-bred giant pandas housed long-term at the Chengdu Research Base, and his birth followed the standardized breeding protocols of the coordinated global giant panda conservation program, which prioritizes genetic diversity and species viability in captive populations. For the first year of his life, he resided at the Chengdu Research Base, where he received routine veterinary monitoring, developmental care, and socialization with other juvenile pandas as part of the base’s standard captive rearing framework.

On his first birthday, May 1, 2020, Yi Xin was transferred to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong, as part of an inter-institutional cooperation agreement focused on giant panda public education and conservation outreach. The facility maintains a large, naturalistic enclosure tailored to his species’ needs, with features replicating the temperate mountain bamboo forest habitat native to giant pandas in southwestern China, including varied terrain, climbing structures, and consistent access to fresh, species-appropriate bamboo cultivars. Routine health assessments, dietary monitoring, and behavioral research conducted at the facility contribute to long-term datasets on captive giant panda welfare and life history.

Yi Xin is a popular draw for visitors to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, with his daily foraging, climbing, and rest behaviors regularly observed by members of the public. His public presence supports regional conservation education efforts, helping to raise awareness of giant panda habitat loss, species protection initiatives, and the successes of coordinated captive breeding programs that have contributed to the 2016 downlisting of the giant panda from Endangered to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Data collected from his daily care and monitoring is also shared with the global giant panda conservation network to inform evidence-based management practices for the species across captive facilities worldwide.