These 4 are arguably some of the most famous and popular pandas on social media – the fabulous 4 of two sets of twins, males Shuang Shuang 双双 and Chong Chong 重重 born to Lan Xiang, and female Xi Xi 喜喜 and Qing Qing 庆庆 born to Mang Zai, all on the same day in 2019! At 5.5 years old these 4 are now getting on the older side to be all living together – it was fate that quite literally 3 days before I went to Chongqing, largest and strongest, male Shuang Shuang, was separated from his peers and now lives adjacent to them. He did seem to still be interested in them, there is a glass wall between the two yards so he can both see and smell them next door, but overall he didn’t seem to be in any distress at being separated from his long-time friends. The other 3 seemed to be getting along just fine, there was only one incident where two of them wanted the same piece of bamboo from the huge pile on offer!
It was always very busy at these yards, and was a bit of a fight to get to the front most times, and then getting out again – the crowd could easily be 5 or 6 people deep. I met a lovely fellow photographer at their yard and she was telling me how to tell the 3 apart who are still together (of course, now I’ve forgotten which panda is which!). Overall there were fewer hard-core panda photographers here, and more live-streamers.
Moving onto the second upper area of pandas at Chongqing Zoo – here there are 5 yards and while I was there there were 7 pandas living in these yards. Here 4 of the pandas were living individually and 3 were living together. Generally it was a bit quieter up here across the whole day, I do think the viewing options were a bit smaller than the lower area, but with fewer people it wasn’t too bad to get a spot. There was a lot of tree coverage over the pathway up here so I found it quite dark. The yards all backed onto a rock face, which I don’t think helped with the light either. While I tried to split my time equally between the two areas, I did spend most time at the lower area just because of the younger cubs there and also the lighter more green conditions in the yards. First up, looking at 3 of the solo-living pandas in this area.
The last pandas to share about from the lower first area of pandas at Chongqing Zoo are Qi Zhen 奇珍 + Qi Bao 奇宝 and Canadian-born Jia Yue Yue 加悦悦, who I had no idea was here until I saw the sign! These 3 are neighbours, with Qi Zhen and Qi Bao having both an inside and outdoor viewing available. Both outdoor yards in this section are viewable only through glass, so I did find viewing a little tricky as it was very reflective but I was so pleased to be able to see them all still.
Next up were another pair of pandas I was looking forward to seeing – Yu Ai 渝爱 and Yu Ke 渝可! I had hoped to see them still living together but in late December they were separated as Yu Ai had an eye condition and it was decided to separate them for treatment. They were only born in 2022, so are 2.5 years old, on the young side to typically separate twins, however on my visit (February) Yu Ai‘s eye was looking much better so it looked like the treatment of her condition was going well.
Yu Ai is the younger female twin while Yu Ke is the older male twin and they were born to Er Shun, her first pregnancy back in China after her time in Canada. It’s great to see her continue her reproductive years and perhaps there are more cubs to come for her. Yu Ai and Yu Ke are still neighbours with each other and have very fun yards to play in – Yu Ai is now in the yard with a giant wooden car, so that’s a fun enrichment option to play with! Alike the other yards, lots of wooden climbing options and different toys to interact with.
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.
