“The more I learn about giant pandas, the more interesting they become to me,” said 64-year-old Zhou Mengqi, who has dedicated 26 years of his life to photographing giant pandas across China.

The creatures are black and white, resembling the color of the Bagua diagram. Their character of doing things at a leisurely pace also coincides with Chinese Taoist culture, said Zhou.

Over the course of his career, Zhou has taken more than 2,000 photos of wild giant pandas and has had almost 10 photo albums published. His publication China’s Giant Panda, which won gold in a national book competition, is usually given to foreign guests as a state gift.

Ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games, 100 copies were airlifted to the UK to be given to foreign friends by the Chinese Embassy.

Although giant pandas are native to China, they enjoy worldwide popularity, Zhou explained, adding that he was astonished by the animal's reputation during a trip to Europe in 2015.

Along the way, some foreigners excitedly took photos with panda toys that Zhou had taken with him, and a few people even asked to purchase them.

Aside from China, Chinese giant pandas are now living in over 20 zoos in 18 countries. Zhou plans to visit all of them in the next few years.