China pandas rise from unknown status to become palace pets, then national symbols, treasures

Once a neglected figure in ancient China’s folklore, literature and artefacts, the panda has become a national treasure and a defining symbol of the modern nation. How did this black-and-white creature, long overlooked, come to occupy such an iconic place in a country’s cultural imagination? Palaeontologists have discovered panda fossils across China, some dating back eight to nine million years.