Giant pandas Xiang Qui and Yi Lan replace Wang Wang and Fu Ni as stars of the Bamboo Forest at Adelaide Zoo, from 2025

Female giant panda Yi Lan enjoys a welcome gift treat as she arrives from China at Adelaide Zoo, joined in the zoo's Bamboo Forest after quarantine by male Xing Qui Inset). Adelaide Zoo was one of only 22 zoos around the world — and the only one in Australia — to host pandas.
Image courtesy Zoos SA

Male giant panda Xing Qiu and female Yi Lan were presented to visitors at the Bamboo Forest in Adelaide Zoo after they replaced Wang Wang and Fu Ni who were original pair sent from China to South Australia in 2009.

Xing Qiu (pronounced shing chee yull), a three-year-old male, was described as a very handsome with a calm yet lively temperament. His name, meaning star autumn, reflected the season of his birth and the starry night sky that illuminated his arrival into the world. Yi Lan, also three years old, (pronounced ee lun) was  known for her beauty and playful nature. Her name, translating to idly blissful, captured her personality.

The selection of Xing Qiu and Yi Lan was the result of ongoing collaboration and discussion with Zoos South Australia's Chinese counterparts. After careful consideration, these two pandas were chosen as the ideal pair for Adelaide Zoo, because of their ability to thrive in Adelaide’s environment but also due to their potential as a future breeding pair.

The 10-year loan of Wang Wang and Fu Ni from China was extended by five years in 2019. Under a deal with China, the South Australian government will spend about $3.5 million over five years allowing the pandas to remain until at least 2024.

Adelaide Zoo was one of only 22 zoos around the world — and the only one in Australia — to host pandas. Since Wang Wang and Fu Ni arrived in 2009, Adelaide Zoo welcomed more than 3.8 million visitors and analysis showed that having the pandas in South Australia generated $33.5 million in economic output in 2010. About a third of Adelaide Zoo’s 420,000 visitors every year are from outside South Australia.

But Wang Wang and Fu Ni have failed to breed a baby that would be able to remain in Australia. This was  despite Adelaide Zoo retorting to a range of techniques, including “panda porn”, to encourage their breeding efforts. Zoos SA chief executive  Elaine Bensted said in 2019 that the pandas were still of breeding age but the zoo would consider seeking another male to boost the chances of a cub. Breeding was always challenging with giant pandas with only a one-on-five success rate in China.

Wang Wang and Fu Ni became elements in the wider question of Australia-China diplomatic relationships since Australian government foreign minister Alexander Downer brokered the deal to secure the giant pandas for South Australia during the final years of the Howard government. The pandas arrived in 2009 during the prime ministership of Howard's successor, the Mandarin-speaking Kevin Rudd, who was also a strong panda backer. Since then, so-called “panda diplomacy” was   an established part of China's strategy of building ties with other nations.