Ming Ming, who had been living at a reserve in Guangdong province, died from old age and had kidney failure.

The China Panda Protection Centre in Sichuan province said she died on May 7.

Wild pandas live 15 years on average and captive ones 22 years.

Giant pandas are among the world's most endangered species, with about 1,600 in the wild. More than 300 are in captivity in China, most in a breeding program aimed at boosting the population.

The country also loans pandas to zoos worldwide.

London Zoo kept Ming Ming and a male panda Bao Bao in the early 1990s hoping the pair would breed but they fought savagely.

Bao Bao was sent to Berlin Zoo in 1993 and Ming Ming returned to China in 1994.British zoos have not kept giant pandas since.