Place archive
The Ya'an Bifengxia Base (Yaan Bifengxia Base) of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) is located in the Bifengxia Gorge scenic area, approximately 12 km north of Ya'an City and 148 km from Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Nestled at an elevation of 1,100 to 1,200 meters above sea level in a dense broadleaf forest with abundant bamboo, waterfalls, and streams, the base was constructed beginning in October 2002 and officially opened on December 28, 2003. Originally planned as a satellite center to house sub-adult and senior pandas to relieve population pressure at Wolong, the base's role expanded dramatically after the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, when the Wolong center was severely damaged and the majority of its pandas were evacuated to Bifengxia. The base subsequently grew to house over 60 pandas and became the largest captive panda facility in China. It is divided into three main exhibit zones: Bai Xiong Ping (White Panda Terrace) for adult pandas, a Panda Kindergarten for cubs and sub-adults, and Hai Gui Yuan (Overseas Returnees Paradise) for pandas returning from international conservation programs abroad.
Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is a CCRCGP-affiliated ex-situ conservation facility contributing to the coordinated captive breeding program that maintains genetic diversity across the global giant panda population.
How this page is organized
This page gathers the residents linked to Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, the key moments recorded here, nearby institutions, and the articles that add context.
Resident archive
17 pandas recorded
The pandas currently recorded at this institution.
贝贝
Bei Bei (贝贝, studbook #978) is a male giant panda born on August 22, 2015 at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington ...
大白兔
Da Bai Tu (大白兔), nicknamed "Pa Pa Tu" (趴趴兔), is a female giant panda born on 2010-07-02 at Beijing Zoo. Daughter of Gu G...
View profile豆豆
Dou Dou (豆豆), studbook #1165, is a male giant panda born on September 19, 2018, at the Wolong Shenshuping Base. His moth...
梵星
Fan Xing (梵星) is a female giant panda born May 1, 2020 at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands — the first giant panda cub e...
华豹
Hua Bao (华豹), also known as Pyry in Finland, is a male giant panda born July 10, 2013 at Yaan Bifengxia Base. In January...
View profile金宝宝
Jin Bao Bao (金宝宝), also known as Lumi in Finland, is a female giant panda born September 20, 2014 at Yaan Bifengxia Base...
Pandas whose birth place is recorded as Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
华豹
Hua Bao (华豹), also known as Pyry in Finland, is a male giant panda born July 10, 2013 at Yaan Bifengxia Base. In January...
View profile金宝宝
Jin Bao Bao (金宝宝), also known as Lumi in Finland, is a female giant panda born September 20, 2014 at Yaan Bifengxia Base...
平平
Ping Ping (平平), studbook #704, is a female giant panda born on July 6, 2008 at the Ya'an Bifengxia Base. She and her twi...
Pandas that were once linked to this institution.
武岗
Wu Gang (武岗), studbook #502, was a male giant panda rescued from Baoxing County, Sichuan on May 1, 2001. He was known fo...
Gallery
Images and video connected to Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Recorded moments
On June 10, 2026, panda Qian Qian (芊芊) gave birth to twin male cubs at the CCRCGP Ya'an Base — the first twin birth among the center's captive population in 2026. One cub is nursed by its mother while the other is cared for by the hand-rearing team; the cubs alternate between the two.
Read updateAfter arriving in Chengdu, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei began a 30-day quarantine at CCRCGP's Ya'an Bifengxia Base. Keepers monitored bamboo intake, droppings, and behavior while building trust before any public debut.
Read updateThe last two pandas in Japan — Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei — arrived in Chengdu on Jan 28, 2026, after departing Ueno Zoo. Japan entered its first panda-free era since 1972. Over 310,000 people applied for the final-viewing lottery, with roughly 4,400 winners admitted on the last day (odds up to 24.6:1). China's foreign ministry welcomed Japanese fans to visit pandas in China.
Read updateLei Lei departed Ueno Zoo on Jan 27, 2026, flying from Narita to Chengdu. After 30-day quarantine she settled at Ya'an Bifengxia Base, reuniting with sister Xiang Xiang. Japan's panda-free era began.
Read updateXiao Xiao departed Ueno Zoo on Jan 27, 2026, with fans lining the streets. He flew from Narita to Chengdu, arriving Jan 28. After quarantine he settled at Ya'an Bifengxia Base, ending Japan's 54-year panda era.
Read updateIn the library
Nestled in the misty mountains above Ya'an, Sichuan, the Bifengxia Panda Base is the quiet epicenter of the global panda diaspora — the place every overseas-born panda first encounters when it returns to China. With its cool climate, abundant bamboo, and specialized quarantine facilities, Bifengxia has processed every major panda homecoming of the modern era, from Tai Shan in 2010 to Fu Bao in 2024.
From the 1972 arrival of diplomatic gifts Kang Kang and Lan Lan to the January 2026 departure of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, this guide traces every giant panda that has lived in Japan across three institutions — Ueno Zoo, Adventure World in Wakayama, and Kobe Oji Zoo — and explains why Japan, for the first time since 1972, now has none.
On May 12, 2008, the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake devastated the Wolong National Nature Reserve — the heart of global panda conservation. This article tells the story of what was lost, how pandas and keepers survived, and the decade-long international effort that rebuilt Wolong into the modern Shenshuping and Gengda bases that anchor the Giant Panda National Park today.
World map
Coordinates: 30.0500 N, 103.0000 E
Archive notes
The Ya'an Bifengxia Base (Yaan Bifengxia Base) of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) is located in the Bifengxia Gorge scenic area, approximately 12 km north of Ya'an City and 148 km from Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Nestled at an elevation of 1,100 to 1,200 meters above sea level in a dense broadleaf forest with abundant bamboo, waterfalls, and streams, the base was constructed beginning in October 2002 and officially opened on December 28, 2003.
Originally planned as a satellite center to house sub-adult and senior pandas to relieve population pressure at Wolong, the base's role expanded dramatically after the May 12, 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, when the Wolong center was severely damaged and the majority of its pandas were evacuated to Bifengxia. The base subsequently grew to house over 60 pandas and became the largest captive panda facility in China. It is divided into three main exhibit zones: Bai Xiong Ping (White Panda Terrace) for adult pandas, a Panda Kindergarten for cubs and sub-adults, and Hai Gui Yuan (Overseas Returnees Paradise) for pandas returning from international conservation programs abroad.