Yong Yong

Basic Profile

Yong Yong (Chinese: 勇勇, nicknamed Duan Zheng Yong/段正勇), studbook number 584, is a male giant panda born on August 26, 2004 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. His mother is Shu Qing (蜀庆) and his father is Ping Ping (屏屏), a wild panda.

He is the eldest of the “Shu Qing family,” with siblings including Shu Rong (蜀蓉) — gifted to Macau — Shu Lin (蜀琳), Shu Xiang (蜀祥), and Shu Yun (蜀云).

The Master of Romance

Yong Yong’s claim to fame is unusual for a panda: he is exceptionally good at natural mating.

In the captive panda world, natural breeding is notoriously difficult. Many pairs must be artificially inseminated. Yong Yong, however, has a natural gift. Keepers describe him as:

• Patient — he does not rush or force interactions
• Observant — he can read a female’s mood and body language
• Gentle — he is known to be a “耙耳朵” (a Sichuan term for a husband who listens to his wife)
• Physically capable — his powerful hind legs give him exceptional stability during mating

His success rate is among the highest at the Chengdu Base, earning him the playful nickname “Duan Zheng Yong” — a pun on Duan Zhengchun, the famously romantic段正淳 character from Louis Cha’s wuxia novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils who “loves all the beauties he meets.”

Daily Routine

Yong Yong follows a remarkably consistent daily schedule:

• Morning: He sits in his pool and splashes water with his feet for extended periods, a behavior that has become his trademark
• Afternoon: He settles into a pile of bamboo shoots and eats continuously for hours, consuming approximately 70 kilograms daily

2018 Eye Condition

In 2018, Yong Yong was one of eight pandas at Chengdu Base who developed hair loss around the eyes, sparking online concern and allegations of neglect. The base conducted skin scrapings that tested negative for demodectic mange mites and issued a detailed public explanation, ruling out mistreatment.