Ai Hin

Basic Profile

Field	Detail
Name	Ai Hin (爱浜)
Studbook	#663
Gender	Female
Birth Date	December 23, 2006
Birth Place	Adventure World, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan
Current Location	Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Status	Alive
Father	Yong Ming / Ei Mei (永明, #390)
Mother	Mei Mei (梅梅, #408)

Ai Hin is a member of the legendary “Hama Family” (浜家族) — the largest overseas panda lineage in the world, founded by her parents Yong Ming and Mei Mei at Adventure World in Japan.

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Family & Lineage

Siblings

Ai Hin has numerous siblings from the same parents. She was the last cub born to Yong Ming and Mei Mei, alongside her twin brother Ming Hin.

Relation	Name	Studbook	Notes
Twin Brother	Ming Hin (明浜)	—	Returned to China with Ai Hin in 2012
Older Brother	Xiong Hin (雄浜)	541	—
Older Brother	Ryu Hin (隆浜)	573	—
Older Brother	Shu Hin (秋浜)	574	—
Older Brother	Kou Hin (幸浜)	—	—
Older Sister	Qi Zhen (奇珍)	490	”Seven Stitches” — named after emergency surgery
Older Sister	Qi Yuan (奇缘)	—	—
Older Sister	Rau Hin (良浜)	515	Continued the family legacy at Adventure World
Younger Brother	Kai Hin (海浜)	—	—
Younger Brother	Ei Hin (永浜)	—	—
Younger Sister	Yu Hin (优浜)	—	—
Younger Sister	You Hin (阳浜)	—	—
Younger Sister	Sakura Hin (樱浜)	—	—
Younger Sister	Tao Hin (桃浜)	—	—

Offspring

Cub	Studbook	Birth Date	Father	Status
Unnamed (乳名”66”)	—	2016-05-06	Yong Yong (勇勇)	Died at 4 days (SIDS)
Dai Dai (带带/善仔)	1068	2017-06-12	Qinling male	Deceased 2019-02-08
Lu Lu (路路)	1069	2017-06-12	Qinling male	Alive
Unnamed cub	—	2022-10-01	—	Alive

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Life Journey

Birth — A Winter Miracle (2006)

On December 23, 2006, at 13:48 and 15:55 Beijing time, Mei Mei gave birth to twins at Adventure World — a female and a male, 55 minutes apart. This was historically significant: it was the only documented case of captive giant pandas mating in autumn and successfully rearing twins through winter, demonstrating the species’ remarkable adaptability.

The newborns weighed just 107 grams and 125 grams respectively — fragile pink newborns in the cold Wakayama winter.

Naming Ceremony (2007-02-09)

On February 9, 2007, Adventure World announced the names after receiving 7,168 public submissions. The sister was named “Ai Hin” (爱浜) — meaning “loved by all” — with the hope that she would grow strong and be cherished. Her brother was named “Ming Hin” (明浜) — “bright future” — to illuminate the family’s legacy.

Return to China (2012-12-14)

On December 14, 2012, Ai Hin and Ming Hin boarded a flight back to China, settling at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. After six years in Japan, Ai Hin began a new chapter in her homeland.

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The False Pregnancy That Captured the World (2014)

In August 2014, Ai Hin was selected as the star of the world’s first 48-hour live-streamed panda birth watch. She showed all the classic signs:

• Reduced appetite and activity
• Elevated progesterone levels
• Nesting behavior

She was moved to a private air-conditioned room with premium meals and round-the-clock care. A global audience watched in anticipation.

After 48 hours of non-stop broadcasting, experts delivered the verdict: false pregnancy (假孕).

“This ‘seems pregnant but isn’t’ phenomenon is actually a common physiological response in female pandas,” explained base expert Wu Kongju. “The only way to know for sure is to monitor hormonal changes and behavioral patterns — and even then, you can only confirm 1-2 days before actual birth.”

The event became an important case study in panda reproductive physiology. Fans affectionately nicknamed her “False Pregnancy Princess” (假孕公主) — a title that stuck for years.

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Tragedy: The 2016 Cub

Rare Winter Mating

In January 2016, Ai Hin mated with male Yong Yong (勇勇) in an unusual winter breeding event — a rare occurrence in captive panda breeding.

Birth of “66”

On May 6, 2016, at 6:06 AM, Ai Hin gave birth to a 145-gram male cub — the first giant panda cub born globally that year. Keepers nicknamed him “66” (六六), celebrating the auspicious timing.

Sudden Death

Four days later, on May 10 at 5:00 AM, the unthinkable happened. A 24-hour监护 keeper observed Ai Hin nursing the cub. Suddenly, the infant let out a sharp cry, slipped from its mother’s grasp, and fell to the ground.

By the time keepers retrieved him, he had already stopped breathing.

Autopsy results: All organs appeared normal — no abnormalities could be found. The death was classified as similar to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in humans, an extremely rare phenomenon in captive panda breeding history.

The loss was deeply felt by keepers and fans alike. Ai Hin’s first experience of motherhood ended in heartbreak.

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Cross-Subspecies Breeding — A Scientific First (2017)

Move to Shaanxi

On March 27, 2017, Ai Hin was transferred to the Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Research Center for a groundbreaking experiment — cross-subspecies breeding between Sichuan pandas (larger, rounder faces) and Qinling pandas (smaller, brown-tinged, more cat-like faces).

These two subspecies had been geographically isolated for over 300,000 years.

Birth of the Twins

On June 12, 2017, Ai Hin gave birth to twin males:

Cub	Birth Weight	Studbook	Fate
Dai Dai (带带) — also known as Shan Zai (善仔)	107g	#1068	Died February 8, 2019
Lu Lu (路路)	125g	#1069	Survived

This was the first successful cross-subspecies breeding between Sichuan and Qinling giant pandas in history — a milestone for genetic diversity research. The experiment demonstrated that even after 300,000 years of separation, the two subspecies could produce viable offspring.

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Later Years

Return to Qinling (2022)

On October 1, 2022 — National Day in China — Ai Hin gave birth to another cub at the Qinling Panda Research Center, weighing 200g. The cub grew strong under Ai Hin’s attentive care, reaching 4.3kg within weeks.

Return to Chengdu (2023)

On November 27, 2023, Ai Hin was transferred back to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where she currently resides. She has completed a remarkable full-circle journey: Japan → Chengdu → Shaanxi → Qinling → Chengdu.

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Scientific Significance

Ai Hin’s life has contributed uniquely to panda science across multiple dimensions:

Area	Contribution
Winter Breeding	Only documented case of autumn mating → winter birth in captivity
False Pregnancy	First live-streamed false pregnancy, advancing understanding of panda reproductive physiology
Infant Mortality	Rare SIDS-like case study in panda cubs
Cross-Subspecies	First successful Sichuan × Qinling cross-breeding, proving genetic compatibility
Public Education	Global live-stream raised awareness of panda breeding challenges

Legacy

As the last cub of the legendary pair Yong Ming and Mei Mei, Ai Hin represents the culmination of the Sino-Japan giant panda cooperative breeding program (1994–2024). Her family — the “Hama Family” — spans three decades of international collaboration, with members now distributed across zoos in Chengdu, Tangshan, Suzhou, Liuzhou, and beyond.

In 2024, Ai Hin participated in the iPanda Mid-Autumn Festival celebration alongside other Hama Family members, a testament to her enduring place in the global panda conservation community.