In 2008, panda-mania hit Taiwan when China gifted the country two giant pandas.

This practice known as ‘panda diplomacy’ is thought to date back as far as the 7th Century.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan flew into Taiwan and became instant celebrities.

Eve Chen, curator of the Giant Panda House at Taipei Zoo says: “They were extremely cute and adorable. You could call them like the handsome and the beauty, like the Barbie and Ken in a panda.”

Eve tells Gill Kearsley about their arrival and what it meant to Taiwan.

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(Photo: Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan in China. Credit: Visual China Group via Getty Images.)

‘Panda diplomacy’: China gifts pandas to Taiwan

Witness History