北京动物园
Duanfang passed the Imperial Examination in 1882 during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, and then served as a "yuanwailang" () before being promoted to "langzhong" (). He supported the 1898 Hundred Days' Reform, but when it failed, he was protected by Ronglu and Li Lianying and was not implicated. The Qing government established the agriculture, commerce, and trade bureau in Beijing, and Duanfang was placed in charge of the bureau. Empress Dowager Cixi awarded Duanfang with an official cap of the third rank. Duanfang purchased a batch of animals from Germany for the Beijing Zoo.