Basi, one of China's best-known pandas, has survived a dangerous nosebleed caused by hypertension, after 20 days of intensive care by doctors from two army hospitals.

Treating the panda proved difficult since the medical staff had little experience in the field.

Basi was born in 1980 and has lived in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, east China, since 1984.

In 1987, Basi visited the United States as a "friendly envoy;" in 1990, the panda became the symbol of the 11th Asian Games in Beijing.

(People's Daily August 25, 2002)