Bai Yun
白云
35 years old
dujiangyan_base
Bai Yun (白云, "White Cloud"), studbook #371, is a female giant panda born September 7, 1991 at Wolong Hetaoping Base. She...
View profile YUN
Panda archive
Yun Zi
云子
alive male
Born August 5, 2009
Yun Zi (云子, studbook #749) is a male giant panda born August 5, 2009 at San Diego Zoo. Son of Gao Gao and Bai Yun, his name meaning "Son of Bai Yun" was chosen from 6,300 public submissions. He returned to China in 2014 as the first overseas panda at the Dujiangyan Base. In 2022, he underwent successful testicular tumor surgery at Shijiazhuang Zoo.
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Profile snapshot
Quick facts
Birth date
August 5, 2009
Birth place
San Diego Zoo
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Status
Alive
Studbook
#749Archive activity
5 updates · 0 media
Narrative
Life story
Start with a concise summary, then continue into the full narrative record for Yun Zi.
Short version
Yun Zi (云子, studbook #749) is a male giant panda born August 5, 2009 at San Diego Zoo. Son of Gao Gao and Bai Yun, his name meaning "Son of Bai Yun" was chosen from 6,300 public submissions. He returned to China in 2014 as the first overseas panda at the Dujiangyan Base. In 2022, he underwent successful testicular tumor surgery at Shijiazhuang Zoo.
Basic Profile
Yun Zi (Chinese: 云子, studbook number 749) is a male giant panda born on August 5, 2009 at the San Diego Zoo in California, United States. His name means “Son of Bai Yun” (白云之子), chosen through a nationwide naming contest.
His father is Gao Gao (高高, studbook 415) — the famous wild-rescued male with a distinctively notched ear — and his mother is Bai Yun (白云, studbook 371), the legendary San Diego matriarch. His siblings include Hua Mei, Mei Sheng, Su Lin, Zhen Zhen, and Xiao Liwu.
Life at San Diego
Naming Contest
To name the new cub, San Diego Zoo launched a nationwide naming contest that received approximately 6,300 submissions. Five finalists were selected: “Fu Sheng” (福圣), “Xiao Long” (小龙), “Wei Xiong” (威熊), “Yong Xiang” (永祥), and “Yun Zi” (云子). “Yun Zi” won with 28% of the vote, honoring his mother Bai Yun’s name.
Public Debut
On January 7, 2010, five-month-old Yun Zi made his first formal media appearance at San Diego Zoo, charming reporters and photographers.
Return to China
On January 9, 2014, Yun Zi departed San Diego aboard flight CZ438. After a 48-hour journey, he arrived at the China Conservation and Research Center’s Dujiangyan Base — becoming the first overseas-returned panda (“haigui”) to reside at the Dujiangyan facility.
After a month of quarantine, he quickly adapted to his new home. Keepers noted he was in good spirits with a healthy appetite.
Shijiazhuang Zoo
On April 25, 2015, Yun Zi was transferred to Shijiazhuang Zoo in Hebei Province, where he has lived ever since, weighing approximately 105 kg and consuming bamboo shoots and fresh bamboo daily.
Health Scare: Testicular Tumor
In February 2022, keepers at Shijiazhuang Zoo noticed Yun Zi’s testicles were symmetrically enlarged. Blood tests showed normal results, and environmental samples (rocks, building materials, air quality, feed) were all tested — all passed.
On March 11, 2022, CCRCGP veterinary experts arrived and performed CT and ultrasound examinations, diagnosing bilateral testicular tumors. That same evening, a successful tumor removal surgery was performed by a team of veterinary and human medical specialists. Yun Zi recovered well, with his appetite returning to normal afterward.
Evidence
Life timeline
Key updates and milestone events tied to Yun Zi.
2009 (2)
Knowledge graph
Family and network
See the core family graph first, then continue through related pandas and archive themes.
Father Mother Full siblings Half-siblings (grouped)
Full siblings 6 same father & mother
Yun Zi has
6 full siblings and 3 half-siblings.
The majority share the same mother, Bai Yun .
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View profileWhy these profiles appear here
1
Bai Yun
Mother: Bai Yun (SB 371)
2
Gao Gao
Father: Gao Gao (SB 415)
3
Gong Zhu
Same mother (SB 371)
4
Hua Mei
Same mother (SB 371)
Theme graph
Themes connected to Yun Zi
This panda is connected to 5 themes in the broader archive graph.
Lineage themes
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Connected archive
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This is the next layer around the profile: place journey, current geography, reading context, and nearby panda records.
Place journey
San Diego Zoo
Birth placeSan Diego, United States
2009 to 2014
Zoo
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda Dujiangyan Base
Yun Zi Returns to ChinaDujiangyan, China
2014 to 2015
Breeding center
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Current residenceDujiangyan, China
2015 to present
Breeding center
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Dujiangyan, China
Yun Zi is currently linked to China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
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- Conservation institution records
- Official panda databases
- Research publications and archive reporting
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