Bei Bei
贝贝
10 years old
yaan_bifengxia_base
Bei Bei (贝贝, studbook #978) is a male giant panda born on August 22, 2015 at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington ...
captive-bred smithsonian usa
+2
View profile
LEI
Panda archive
Lei Lei
蕾蕾
alive female
Born June 23, 2021
Lei Lei (蕾蕾) is a female giant panda born June 23, 2021 at Ueno Zoo, Tokyo. Twin of Xiao Xiao, her name was chosen from 192,712 public submissions. Her 2022 public debut drew 1 winner per 348 lottery applicants. She returned to China in January 2026, ending Japan's 54-year panda era. Annual economic impact: 308 billion yen.
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This page brings together the core facts, timeline, family graph, media, place journey, and related reading for Lei Lei.
Profile snapshot
Quick facts
Birth date
June 23, 2021
Birth place
Ueno Zoo
Current location
Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Status
Alive
Studbook
Unassigned
Archive activity
4 updates · 0 media
Narrative
Life story
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Short version
Lei Lei (蕾蕾) is a female giant panda born June 23, 2021 at Ueno Zoo, Tokyo. Twin of Xiao Xiao, her name was chosen from 192,712 public submissions. Her 2022 public debut drew 1 winner per 348 lottery applicants. She returned to China in January 2026, ending Japan's 54-year panda era. Annual economic impact: 308 billion yen.
Basic Profile
Lei Lei (Chinese: 蕾蕾, “Budding Flower”), is a female giant panda born on June 23, 2021 at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. Her mother is Shin Shin (真真/仙女) and her father is Bi Li (比力/力力) . Her twin brother is Xiao Xiao (晓晓) .
The twins’ names were selected from 192,712 public submissions and announced on October 8, 2021. Together, “晓晓” (dawn) and “蕾蕾” (bud) symbolize “dawn breaking,迎接美好未来.”
Ueno’s Beloved Twins
Lei Lei made her public debut on January 12, 2022, with viewing limited to a lottery system — only 1 in 348 applicants won admission. The zoo opened for just 2 hours daily, accommodating 1,080 visitors.
Return to China (2026)
On January 28, 2026, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao arrived in Chengdu. After quarantine, they settled at the Ya’an Bifengxia Base. Their departure marked the first time Japan has been without a giant panda since 1972.
According to Kansai University Professor Miyamoto Katsuhiro, the twins generated an estimated 308 billion yen annually in economic impact for Japan.
Evidence
Life timeline
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2022 (1)
Knowledge graph
Family and network
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Father Mother Full siblings Half-siblings (grouped)
Full siblings 2 same father & mother
Lei Lei has
2 full siblings and 4 half-siblings.
The majority share the same father, Ri Ri
, indicating a highly prolific paternal lineage.
Gallery
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Connected archive
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Place journey
Current location
Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Ya'an, China
Lei Lei is currently linked to Ya'an Bifengxia Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Archive paths
Mentioned in archive reading
culture
Where Pandas Live: The Complete Global Distribution Guide
The giant panda diaspora spans 58 locations across continents — from the misty bamboo forests of Sichuan to climate-controlled enclosures in Singapore, from mountain reserves that shelter free-ranging pandas to urban zoos that host celebrities. This article provides the definitive guide to panda geography: where they live, why they're there, what the distribution reveals about conservation history, and how the map has changed from 1869 to today.
nature
How to Trace Any Giant Panda's Family Tree: The Studbook Guide
Every captive giant panda on Earth has a unique studbook number that maps directly to its parents, grandparents, offspring, and location history. This guide teaches you how to use the PandaCommon database to trace any panda's lineage — from Fu Bao back to Pan Pan in three generations — and explains what the studbook numbers reveal about genetic relationships, breeding history, and the hidden family connections that link pandas across continents.
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Trust
Sources and references
Information on this page is compiled from conservation institutions, official panda records, media archives, and the wider PandaCommon research workflow.
Primary source types
- Conservation institution records
- Official panda databases
- Research publications and archive reporting
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