Hsing Hsing

Basic Profile

Hsing Hsing (Chinese: 星星, studbook number 127) was a male giant panda captured in the wild of Sichuan Province, China around 1970. He and the female Ling Ling (玲玲, studbook 126) were the first giant pandas to reside in the United States, gifted to the American people as a symbol of normalized Sino-US relations following President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in February 1972.

Life Journey

Diplomatic Gift

During Nixon’s 1972 visit, Premier Zhou Enlai personally selected a pair of pandas from Baoxing County, Sichuan — Ling Ling (female) and Hsing Hsing (male). On April 16, 1972, the pandas arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. First Lady Pat Nixon, wearing a panda brooch, attended the official reception ceremony on April 20, 1972. Their arrival was so momentous that 1972 was declared “Year of the Panda” in the United States.

National Sensation

Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling became instant national celebrities. On their first public day, 20,000 visitors came to see them, and within a week, single-day attendance reached 70,000. Together they drew millions of visitors annually and became beloved cultural icons.

Breeding Challenges

Hsing Hsing initially struggled with mating. After years of failed attempts, the pair successfully copulated in March 1983. Ling Ling gave birth to a male cub on July 21, 1983, but it died of pneumonia within hours — DNA tests confirmed Hsing Hsing was the father. Over the next six years, Ling Ling gave birth to four more cubs, but none survived beyond a few days. These losses highlighted the challenges of captive panda breeding and spurred research that would later benefit the species.

Later Years and Death

After Ling Ling died of heart failure on December 30, 1992, Hsing Hsing lived alone. In 1997 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery. By November 1999, he was suffering from terminal kidney disease and multiple age-related conditions. On November 28, 1999, at age 28, he was euthanized. The zoo received thousands of sympathy letters from across the country.

Legacy

Hsing Hsing was one of the longest-lived giant pandas outside China at the time of his death. A memorial plaque at the Smithsonian National Zoo reads: “The giant pandas in this zoo are gifts of the People’s Republic of China. They have brought joy to millions of visitors.” Together, Hsing Hsing and Ling Ling paved the way for the cooperative research program that later brought Mei Xiang and Tian Tian to the zoo in 2000.