Next up in the first area of pandas at Chongqing Zoo, was mama Mang Zai 莽仔 and her 2023-born cub Mang Can Can 莽灿灿! This pair was one of my most anticipated panda viewings because they have been incredibly widely shared about online and baby Mang Can Can just looks so adorable. I was particularly keen to see him sitting in his little wooden car, however since then there has been a bit of a switch around with the yards, so they’re no longer in with the car, but in with the giant wooden camel – seeing him sitting on the camel sounded like a decent enough alternative!

In the morning it was still cleaning time in their yard when I got there, so I waited around with the other several hundred fans waiting to catch a glimpse. Eventually the door opened and after a few minutes Mang Can Can came strolling out and headed straight for a tree for some climbing. He was pretty swiftly followed by mum Mang Zai. He’s an active cub and did so much climbing over all of his climbing frame options – love the bridge, but you really can’t beat a giant wooden camel to climb on! The yard has lots of wooden options, but there were also some tires and plastic toys as well – I quite like the mix and it’s good enrichment for a young panda. Of course, there was also a table with two chairs, and shortly after the climbing session, the pairs headed over to the table to enjoy their apple slices, honestly I will never get over seeing pandas sitting so sweetly at a table on chairs to eat. It’s the best thing ever! Later in the afternoon Mang Zai was thoroughly enjoying her pile of bamboo while Mang Can Can enjoyed more playing, he was climbing all over everything – so active and adventurous. He did try to bother Mang Zai a bit, but as an experienced mother, she wasn’t letting him get in the way of her bamboo.

They were a very popular pair and there was always a large crowd gathered around their yard – it’s pretty well placed on a corner, so you can view from two sides, more space for people. It was at this yard that I realised my Chinese was pretty good – a grandmother told her grandson (around 9 or 10 years old) to ‘push the foreigner out of the way’ so they could get closer to the front. I still need to learn some comebacks, but I think she knew I understood from the look of dismay on my face! It’s completely elbows out and every one for themselves at panda viewing, especially at this yard here!

Mang Can Can is Mang Zai‘s third pregnancy. She was born in 2011, making her 13.5 years old on my visit. She is a descendant of Xin Xing of course having been born here at Chongqing Zoo. She first became a mother in 2019, having twins Xi Xi and Qing Qing (who I saw later, photos to come!), then again in 2021 with twins Xing Xing and Chen Chen who are her yard neighbours who I just posted about, and now this was her third pregnancy – a success in the breeding programme for sure.