Giant panda Cheng Gong was found dead in her enclosure at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on Sunday morning, just one week before her 23rd birthday.

Before her death, Cheng Gong was still picking and eating bamboo shoots and steamed bread as usual, and she hadn't lost weight and still had lustrous fur, according to the research base. Many netizens also echoed online that they had seen Cheng Gong at the base a few days previously, and that she had looked well and didn't show any abnormal signs.

Since her birth at the research base in Chengdu on September 11, 2000, Cheng Gong had enjoyed widespread affection among researchers and panda lovers alike. She loved taking baths so much that her whiter-than-white fur earned her the nickname of the "neat freak princess."

From 2008 to 2020, Cheng Gong successfully gave birth to nine cubs, five of which also currently reside at the research base in Chengdu. Among her best-known offspring are her eldest son, Gong Zai, and her daughter He Hua. 

In October 2008, the U.S. production team behind the computer-animated action film "Kung Fu Panda" visited the research base to seek inspiration for the movie's sequel. On first seeing the 3-month-old Gong Zai in the nursery, the team was attracted by his adorable appearance and playfulness. The cub was later chosen as the archetype for Po, the hero in "Kung Fu Panda 2."

He Hua, Cheng Gong's youngest daughter, has captivated the hearts of panda lovers for her mild temperament and distinctive appearance – short limbs, a wide and round face, and snow-white fur. When videos of her unexpectedly went viral online at the end of last year, a sudden surge of tourists descended on the research base. Many tourists said they had traveled all the way there just to see He Hua.

Their mother Cheng Gong lived to the equivalent human age of between 70 and 80 years old. She still ate as usual the night before her death. Scientists are conducting histopathological tests into the cause of her death.