Born at the Beijing Zoo, China's giant panda Yaya was taken to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, the United States in 2003 for a research project. In December 2022, the Memphis Zoo announced (宣布) that it would return Yaya to China. After finishing her 20-year loan period (租借期), China's giant panda Yaya finally returned home from the US on April 27,2023.

In January, visitors in the Memphis Zoo found that Yaya became bony, making many Chinese and animal lovers abroad worried about her health and life quality at the Memphis Zoo. China prepared to welcome back Yaya and experts from the Beijing Zoo arrived in the US in March to learn about her habits and feeding situation from the zoo staff members. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the quarantine (检疫) and feeding places for Yaya were ready along with her feeding plans and medical care. 

The news that Yaya is coming back to China has cheered up millions of Chinese people. By April 9, a topic about Yaya had received 250 million views. "Come home soon, Yaya. I'll go to see you in the zoo even if I have to queue all day long!" an Internet user commented (评论) on Sina Weibo.

On April 27, Yaya arrived in Shanghai. Groups of people rushed to the airport to welcome Yaya. During the quarantine in Shanghai, the zoo prepared enough bamboo and foods for Yaya. Experts and carers took care of her 24 hours a day there. Yaya's health was in stable (稳定的) condition. After finishing the quarantine, Yaya was safely transported to the Beijing Zoo on May 29. The giant panda, Yaya will spend her late years there and won't meet the public recently.