, there are 21 zoos and parks in 16 countries and 3 area(s) outside of mainland China (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Russia, and the United States, and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) that have giant pandas. These zoos have contracts with China to house these pandas for up to 10 years. Exceptions include some of the pandas held at Ocean Park Hong Kong; the three pandas held at Taipei Zoo, which are given by China; and one panda held in Mexico. Giant pandas are on the IUCN Red List so part of the reason these contracts exist between China and international zoos is to try to help the species reproduce before they are brought back to their native land. For this reason, pandas are treated very well.

China's practice of loaning giant pandas as a tool of diplomacy and soft power is known as panda diplomacy.

Europe Germany In Berlin Zoo, Bao Bao (1978–2012) was one of the first two giant pandas in Germany and became—for a time—the oldest known panda in zoos. Together with the female panda Tjen Tjen (who died in 1984), he was given to West Germany by China in 1980. Between 1991 and 1993 Bao Bao was loaned to London Zoo. In 1995, back in his Berlin home, another female named Yan Yan was sent on loan from China in an attempt to mate Bao Bao. In spite of several artificial insemination experiments there were no offspring. Yan Yan died in 2007. In summer 2017, giant pandas returned to Berlin, when Jiao Qing and Meng Meng arrived on breeding loan from China. Meng Meng gave birth to two sets of twin panda cubs: one in September 2019 and the other in August 2024.

France

ZooParc de Beauval, Saint-Aignan, Loir-et-Cher, France, is home to Huan Huan (F) and Yuan Zi (M) since 15 January 2012. She gave birth to two cubs in 2017 but only one survived, Yuan Meng.Le bébé panda chinois du zoo de Beauval a été baptisé Yuan Meng 4 December 2017 Le Monde. Retrieved 2 October 2021 She also gave birth to two other cubs in 2021: Petite Neige and Fleur de Coton. Both of them can be seen through a live camera in the zoo.Au zoo de Beauval, deux pandas sont nés « en parfaite santé » 2 August 2021 Le Monde. Retrieved 2 October 2021

Belgium Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza hosts two giant pandas as of March 2025; Hao Hao and Xing Hui which have been on loan from China since April 2014. Tian Bao was born in Pairi Daiza on 2 June 2016; he is the baby of Hao Hao and Xing Hui.The only giant panda born in Belgium Pairi Daiza. Retrieved 18 November 2019 On 8 August 2019, Hao Hao gave birth to a male and a female. As per traditional Chinese custom they received their names, Bao Di (meaning 'little brother') and Bao Mei (meaning 'little sister'), only 100 days after they were born.. Retrieved 12 March 2025 All three cubs were supposed to be sent back to China around the 4th birthday of the twins, however because of travel restrictions due to Covid-19 this schedule was delayed. On 10 December 2024, the Belgian-born pandas left for China. Hao Hao and Xing Hui, the original breeding pair, are slated to remain on loan to Pairi Daiza until at least 2029.. Retrieved 12 March 2025

England Chi Chi was a female giant panda born in Sichuan, China, in 1954, and was caught in May 1955 in Baoxing, Sichuan, and moved to the Beijing Zoo in June. In May 1957, Kliment Voroshilov made a request for a panda for the Moscow Zoo during his visit to China, and she was sent to Moscow with another panda in the same month. However, despite this, their attempts to mate them were unsuccessful due to sexual imprinting as a result of being reared by human keepers. She was then moved to the London Zoo in 1958. Chi Chi was stuffed and is now an exhibit at the natural history museum.

Scotland Tian Tian and Yang Guang are the pandas that were housed in Edinburgh Zoo in the UK. They lived in £275,000 suites and had organic food flown in from the Continent. They were on loan from China and returned in 2023. Tian Tian and Yang Guang were in an enclosure, which was funded by the Scottish government and had a private pool. On 5 December 2023, the pandas returned to China after 12 years.

Austria

The former elephant enclosure became the Panda House at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn Zoo with well-structured grounds (1015 m2) adapted. These pandas are fed a nutritious diet, and provided with proactive medical care and a dedicated nurse team. Air-conditioning and a fog machine were installed in their habitat to keep the pandas safe and happy on hot summer days.

Finland

Finnish Ähtäri Zoo used to host two giant pandas named Lumi (F) and Pyry (M). They arrived in Finland on 18 January 2018 and were available for public viewing on 17 February, after a one-month quarantine. They were named after the snowstorm that prevailed at the time they arrived in Finland. Lumi means "snow" in Finnish, while Pyry means a rapid, heavy snowfall. In September 2024, it was announced that both giant pandas were to be returned to China, due to Ähtäri Zoo no longer being able to afford their upkeep. The pandas returned to China on 23 November 2024.

Spain The Zoo Aquarium in Madrid is the home of Jin Xi (M) and Zhu Yu (F), who arrived in Spain in April 2024. They will be on display to visitors from the end of May 2024, following a month of quarantine.

Previously, Bing Xing (M) and Hua Zuiba (F) were at Zoo Aquarium Madrid from 2007 to 2024. They gave birth to twin cubs You You (M) and Jiu Jiu (M) on 7 September 2010. Further cubs Xing Bao (F), was born in 2013 and Chulina (F) in September 2016. The zoo was also the site of the first giant panda birth in Europe, Chulin (M) in 1982 whose parents, Shao Shao (F) and Chang Chang (M), arrived in 1978. Chulin (M, 1982) was the first panda to be born in captivity in the western hemisphere by artificial insemination

Denmark On 4 April 2019 Copenhagen Zoo received two pandas, Xing Er, and Mao Sun. The pandas live in a brand new enclosure designed by Bjarke Ingels Group and civil engineer company MOE.

Netherlands The Dutch Zoo Ouwehands Dierenpark houses two giant pandas named Xing Ya and Wu Wen. They live in a Chinese-style enclosure. Wu Wen gave birth to a cub on 1 May 2020. The cub, named Fan Xing, has since been repatriated. Wu Wen gave birth to two more cubs on 12 July 2024, of which only one survived. The cub was named Lang Yue.

Russia Since 2019, Moskovsky Zoopark in Moscow houses the two giant pandas Ru Yi and Ding Ding. Ding Ding gave birth to Russia's first locally born cub in August of 2023. The female cubs were named Katyusha and Moskovsky with the name being selected via a name contest.

Asia Hong Kong

In 1999, a pair of giant pandas, a male named An An () and a female called Jia Jia (), were given to Ocean Park by mainland China to mark the 2nd anniversary of Hong Kong's 1997 handover from UK to China. In 2007, two more pandas, a male called Le Le () and a female named Ying Ying (), were given to Hong Kong to mark the 10th anniversary of the city's handover.

On 28 July 2015, Jia Jia turned 37 years old and was subsequently recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest panda currently living in captivity and the oldest panda to ever live in captivity. The previous record was held by a male panda named Du Du, who was kept at Wuhan Zoo in China.

In October 2016, Jia Jia's health condition began to rapidly deteriorate, exhibiting weight loss and a lack of interest in food and fluids. The panda experienced age-related health deteriorations in previous years, and had high blood pressure, arthritis, and cataracts in both eyes. On 16 October 2016, having been found unable to walk, Jia Jia was euthanised to prevent suffering. She was aged 38 (about 114 years old in human years). The species' average life expectancy is below 20 years in the wild, but can be higher under human care.

On 21 July 2022, An An was euthanised following age-related health deteriorations. At the age of 35 (about 105 years old in human years), he was the world's oldest male giant panda in captivity. The decision to euthanise was made by veterinarians from the park and the government's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, following consultation with the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.

On 1 July 2024, it was announced that the Chinese government would gift a new pair of giant pandas to Ocean Park in the coming few months, to commemorate the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover. The park first revealed that it was in discussions of requesting two more pandas back in May 2023.

Reproduction efforts In April 2019, Ocean Park considered sending the 13-year-old panda pair Le Le and Ying Ying to the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan for mating, following poor success with reproduction since their arrival in the park. Ying Ying had previously been sent back there in 2015, where she soon became pregnant but later miscarried. She had three phantom pregnancies in the following years.

In April 2020, the panda pair mated with each other for the first time, at the age of 14. This was considered a breakthrough as male and female giant pandas become sexually mature at seven and five years old respectively. In August 2023, a team of experts from Sichuan arrived at Ocean Park to assist with the park's breeding efforts. On 15 August 2024, Ying Ying gave birth to naturally conceived twins, one female and one male, which were also the first giant pandas to be born in Hong Kong. This made Ying Ying the oldest recorded giant panda to have successfully given birth, at one day before her 19th birthday (equivalent to 57 human years). The pregnancy began when Ying Ying and Le Le naturally mated in March 2024, but was kept secret by the park until after the twins' delivery. The two panda cubs—especially the female—were said by the park to be "very fragile" post-delivery, and needed time to stabilise before introduced to the public. Mainland China The wild giant panda population in China is no longer endangered, with a population in the wild exceeding 1,800 according to the fourth wild giant panda population investigation. Around 75% of these pandas are found in Sichuan province, inhabiting 49 counties across Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces within a habitat area of 2.58 million hectares. To protect the wild population, China established 67 natural reserves for giant pandas, covering 53.8% of their habitat and 66.8% of the wild population. As of the end of 2020, there were 633 captive giant pandas, and 11 of them have been successfully reintroduced into the wild, with 9 surviving. These conservation efforts are crucial for the survival and long-term sustainability of the giant panda species.

Singapore The largest panda exhibit built in Southeast Asia, this exhibit spans . Simulating the bears' natural habitat with lush plantings, boulders, and water features, the state-of-the-art biodome is also temperature- and humidity-controlled to ensure the pandas' comfort. River Safari has two pandas named Kai Kai and Jia Jia on a 10 year loan. On 14 August 2021, Jia Jia successfully gave birth to a panda cub named Le Le.

Taiwan

There are currently three pandas living in Taiwan. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan were sent by mainland China to Taiwan in 2008 as part of an exchange program. The couple has two cubs, Yuan Zai, born in 2013, and Yuan Bao, born in 2020. The two pandas were given to Taiwan rather than leased, thus them and their offspring are Taiwanese-owned. Tuan Tuan died in 2022.

South Korea Ming Ming and Li Li were bred from 1994 to 1998.