Black-and-white star power

Li Min / For China Daily

Panda visit wows Obama family on last day of tour

Panda cubs at Chengdu Research Base in SW China

Pandas are so celebrated that even their poop is valuable. Paper made from panda feces sells for big bucks.

So it's no shock a photo of a panda munching bamboo in an Air China flight's business class seat went viral.

Problem is, it was a hoax.

For the actual flight of a pair of pandas from China to Canada last March, FedEx decked out the chartered plane's exterior with images of the creature chomping bamboo and the words "Panda Express". The animals were accompanied by a vet and two attendants, who served them 100 kilograms of bamboo, 150 kg of shoots, 50 kg of apples and 15 kg of water.

That's truly first-class airtime - and not only for the pandas.

"In-flight catering and a comfortable cabin temperature for the pandas should make for an enjoyable journey halfway across the world!" the company posted before the trip on a blog created to associate the brand with the species' celebrity.