In February 1972, the US president Richard Nixon travelled to China, the first US president ever to do so.

This visit  marked the thawing of US-China relations, and Mao Zedong responded by sending two giant pandas to an American zoo.  Although panda diplomacy had been used since 1941, this gift of pandas was especially memorable.

 

I remember my mother saying at this time, that the reclusive pandas were going to play a big part in forming friendships between nations. Since then, the loveable panda became one of my mother’s favourite subjects because of the significant role it played as a symbol of peace.