The animal, Zhuangzhuang ("strong") underwent fertilization procedures at Nanchang Zoo in Jiangxi Province Wednesday night, said Liu Daoqiang, a zoo official.
The chimp is at least 30, but having lived at the zoo for 22 years, she never mated. Chimps are classified as an endangered species in China.
The procedure was performed by doctors from the No. 1 Hospital affiliated to Nanchang University. "We observed that she was ovulating," said Wang Gongxian, vice president of the hospital.
The operation lasted 30 minutes. Doctors won't know for 20 days whether it was effective. "If she becomes pregnant, she will be a mother before the end of this year," said Wang.
The sperm was collected from a 9-year-old chimpanzee at Changchun Zoo in northeastern Jilin Province in mid-March and kept in a nitrogen tank at minus 196 degrees Celsius, zoo workers said.
"The operation was quite successful, but given Zhuangzhuang's advanced age, she might not get pregnant," said Huang Xiaojin, head of the hospital's reproduction department. "If this attempt fails, we might try again shortly."
In January, a female chimp at Changchun Zoo underwent three artificial inseminations in January, but all failed, Huang said."
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