Souvenirs made from its droppings are on display during a media preview in Chengdu, Sichuan Province July 26, 2007. [chinadaily.com.cn]

CHENGDU -- A crowd of journalists descended to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the northern suburbs of this capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province Thursday morning.

They weren't here to see the giant panda, one of the most endangered animal species in the world - but souvenirs made from its droppings.

The products include: bookmarks, notebooks, statues of the giant panda, picture frames, fans and paper with logs and paintings of the giant panda. It's the base's creative way to reduce its waste and hopefully turning it into a profitable venture.

"The souvenirs are made by a company in Chengdu with the co-operation of the panda base. The idea of making the souvenirs were inspired by the 17th International Giant Panda Annual Meeting held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last November," explained Jing Shimin, assistant to the director of the base.

It was at the meeting that researchers from the Chengdu Research Base learned that the Chiang Mai Zoo made use of the droppings of its two pandas to make picture frames and postcards and their sales were brisk.

"Pandas at the Chengdu Research Base produce about 200 tons of droppings a year. Previously, the base used to spend between 6,000 and 7,000 yuan (US$780-920) a month to transport the panda droppings out," Jiang told chinadaily.com.cn.

Since the meeting, the base has co-operated with Chengdu Panda's Homeland Handicrafts Development Co Ltd to develop the natural products.

Because pandas eat bamboo, their droppings are mainly bamboo remnants and do not smell bad. But they also contain microorganisms and germs.

"We sterilize the droppings by killing microorganisms and germs in a temperature of 300 degrees Centigrade," said Zeng Shangyou, chairman of Chengdu Panda's Homeland Handicrafts Development Co Ltd.

He added that it took several days to make each of the souvenirs by hand.

The souvenirs will soon be available to visitors to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Although prices of the products are yet to be determined, Zeng said that a Singaporean visitor saw the souvenirs this morning and thought a statue of the giant panda should be 800 yuan (US$105).

"His value is almost the same as the price we want to set," he said.

Zeng believes the prices could range from less than 100 yuan (US$13) for a bookmark and a notebook to 1,000 yuan (US$130) for a painting of the giant panda.

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