Similar to in the Moon Nursery, in the Star Nursery I also saw a mixed set of pandas – mums with cubs, older cubs alone, and also adults alone. First up, those adults! The Star Nursery has 4 inside and 8 outside yards, I did take a quick look inside but there were only pandas in the outdoor yards on this visit. Over the 2 days in these 8 yards I saw 4 mums with cubs, a pair of ‘toddler’ cubs alone, and 5 adults alone (1 of whom I didn’t end up seeing at all, this was Fu Wa, and I only saw a small glimpse of Ao Ao). Overall I really like the yards in this area, they are quite mixed with different terrains, levels of planting, and climbing options, so you do get a variety even though they’re all at one house. And for the most part, viewing is easy at all the yards, there is plenty of space, sometimes 2 levels for viewing, and most have a clear view i.e. not through glass.

Fu Lu 福禄

The first panda I saw was Fu Lu 福禄, an 11 year old female – I only saw her on the first day of my visit and only quite briefly while she was eating. And she was very popular, it was quite busy at the viewing space and I had to fight a little to hold my spot. I found she looks quite distinct, and more like a CCRCGP panda, and seeing her mothers name is Ying Hua, I was sure her name was in my research from either Dujiangyan or Bifengxia bases – well that’s correct. Fu Lu was born at the Bifengxia base however Beijing Zoo had ownership of her and she moved there in 2014, so perhaps I saw her on my 2017 and/or 2018 trips there. In 2019 she was then exchanged with Chengdu Base where she moved and joined the breeding programme. She has been successful in the programme having had pregnancies in 2020 and 2022. Sadly one of her 2022-born twins, Fu Ru, passed away in 2024. The other twin Fu Wan is widely known – she was born with a congenital spinal condition which has impacted her hind legs, luckily she seems to be doing well with specialist help and care.

Bing Bing 冰冰

Now the next panda to share living here solo is another interesting one – Bing Bing 冰冰 is a 9 year old female, although I only saw her on one afternoon. In the morning a different panda was in the space then they were swapped over in the afternoon, so I didn’t get much of a look at her. Only in my post-trip research did I realise I’d seen her before, and that was in 2017 at the Dujiangyan Base with her twin brother Qing Qing – yes, she’s another panda that has been swapped between the bases! On my last visit to Wolong Shenshuping I even saw her first-born twins. Perhaps on my next visit she will be a mother again here in Chengdu Base. On my brief sighting of her this time she was thoroughly engrossed in her bamboo and had no interest in moving away from it! This is one of the smaller yards in the pavilion, but it still had plenty of climbing frames and plants for coverage.

Jing Jing 晶晶

Jing Jing 晶晶 was the panda ‘yard-sharing’ with Bing Bing, and I ended up seeing Jing Jing on the first day and the morning of the second day of my visit. She’s an older girl at 19 years old and was thoroughly enjoying her bamboo each time that I saw her! I liked this yard as it was a little off the beaten track, round a corner that most people didn’t seem to go around, so it was a bit quieter here. She has had quite a calm life, having been born, and always lived, here at the Chengdu Base – despite a page online saying she has lived at a few different Chinese zoos and also the Ya’an Bifengxia Base (the studbook doesn’t lie!). She perhaps has been involved in the breeding season this year, living in one of the nursery houses – her last cub was born in 2017 (Jing Liang, who I actually saw on my last trip!) and before that she had twins in 2015. She was a lovely panda to watch and hopefully I’ll see her again