Bifengxia Giant Panda Base () is a

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...

research and breeding facility in Bifengxia Town,

Ya'an Ya'an (, Tibetan: Yak-Nga ) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau. The city is home to Sichuan Agricultural University, the only 211 Project university and the largest ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Since opening in 2004, it has become home to several more giant pandas. This includes the U.S.-born

Hua Mei Hua Mei (; intended meaning: "China/USA") (born August 21, 1999) is a female giant panda. She is the first giant panda cub to survive to adulthood in the United States. She was born to Bai Yun (mother) and Shi Shi (father) at the San Diego Zoo. ...

and

Mei Sheng Mei Sheng (, lit. "Beautiful Life" or "Born in the USA"; born August 19, 2003) is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo. He is the second panda to be born at the zoo and is the first offspring of Bai Yun and Gao Gao. He is the half-brothe ...

, who were relocated there after the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake severely damaged the panda breeding center at the

Wolong National Nature Reserve Wolong National Nature Reserve (), also known as Wolong Special Administrative Region (), is a protected area located in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Established in 1963 with an initial size of about 20,000 hecta ...

. Both facilities are managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. The

Vienna Zoo Vienna ( ; german: Wien ; bar, Wean, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the Capital city, capital, largest city, and one of States of Austria, nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's List of cities and towns in Austria, most populou ...

-born male panda Fu Long (b. 2007) was relocated to Bifengxia in November, 2009. On February 5, 2010, Bifengxia became home to Tai Shan, who was born at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Later that year, Su Lin and

Zhen Zhen Zhen may refer to: * Towns of China, called zhèn () in Chinese * True (China), ''zhen'' in Chinese * Zhen (surname) (), a Chinese surname * Balhae Kingdom, originally called Zhen () in Chinese * Lady Zhen (183-221), wife of Cao Pi of Cao Wei of th ...

from the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

were also moved here. In 2008, there were 13 baby pandas surviving in the Bifengxia Base. On February 12, 2009, the base held a simple ceremony for these small ones as they attended the panda kindergarten. The giant pandas, who temporarily lived in the Bifengxia Base, returned to the Wolong National Nature Reserve after its restoration that took between two or three years.

References

Giant pandas Nature conservation in China Zoos in China Buildings and structures in Sichuan 2004 establishments in China {{zoo-stub

See also

References