This is the moment an acrobatic panda bit off more than she could chew after hanging from a tree branch by her mouth and then plunging several metres to the ground.

The poor panda, Quanyun, who will be three years old in August, ended up cartwheeling 360 degrees head-over-heels before crashing into the ground, sending up a pile of dust.

With the wind knocked out of her, the two-year-old panda just lay there trying to regain her breath before eventually getting up and ambling off, apparently unharmed.

The remarkable footage shows the panda, which like all her relatives loves to climb, clambering up the tree at the Shaanxi Qinling Giant Panda Rescue and Breeding Research Base in Foping.

The incident occurred at the Foping Zoo in Shaanxi, China, on Sunday, July 7.

The giant panda was enjoying performing high-altitude acrobatics in the rain on a small tree, including holding onto one branch with all limbs hanging free and only using its mouth to stay in place.

But according to visitors it was raining at the time and the branch was slippery, making it difficult for her to regain a grip, and as a result, she fell.

During the fall, the panda executed a 360-degree rotation in mid-air. The fall ended abruptly when the panda hit the ground and the panda lay motionless on the floor dazed.