Shuang Hao

Basic Profile

Shuang Hao (Chinese: 双好, nicknamed Mona Li Shuang/蒙娜丽双 and Ditch Prince/水沟小王子), studbook number 920, is a male giant panda born on July 29, 2014 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. He weighed only 73 grams at birth — about half the normal newborn weight — but survived and thrived.

His mother is Da Shuang (大双) and his father is Xiong Hin (雄浜) — the first surviving Japan-born panda returned to China.

Naming

Shuang Hao was named by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi (黑柳彻子) , the celebrated Japanese author of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, at the “Global Panda Star Cat World Tour” event. The name symbolizes “China-Japan friendship and peace between generations.”

Personality

Shuang Hao has a distinctive slightly upturned mouth that gives him a perpetual half-smile, earning him the nickname “Mona Li Shuang.” He is introverted and shy, often hiding in drainage ditches or up trees to avoid crowds — hence “Ditch Prince.” Despite his shyness, he is gentle and friendly with other pandas.

The Blood Donation (2018)

On March 15, 2018, Shuang Hao’s best friend and lifelong companion Cheng Jiu (成就) — his “bamboo horse” friend from the same cohort — was critically ill with severe anemia. Keepers had trained Shuang Hao for voluntary blood draws without anesthesia. He calmly allowed them to collect his blood, which was immediately transfused into Cheng Jiu, buying precious time for further treatment. The successful non-anesthesia blood donation was a landmark in panda veterinary care.

Life Journey

On September 21, 2016, Shuang Hao and Cheng Jiu moved to Hangzhou Zoo, where they became the pandas’ new “employees.” They returned to Sichuan in October 2019 and now live at the Dujiangyan Panda Valley.