Zhengzhou, July. 30 (PTI): The world's largest giant panda research base in southwest China's Sichuan Province has come up with a novel way to profit from panda dung - crafting money-spinning souvenirs out of it.

Researchers at the Chengdu centre have sculpted photo frames, bookmarks, fans and panda statues out of the 300 tonnes of droppings produced by 60 giant pandas each year.

An official of the base, Jing Shimin said the souvenirs would be relatively odour-free.

"They don't smell too bad because 70 per cent of the dung is just remains of the bamboo that the pandas are unable to digest," he said.

"We used to spend at least 6,000 yuan (USD 770) every month to get rid of the droppings but now they can prove lucrative as half of them will be sold as souvenirs," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

According to Jing, the panda dung is carefully selected and then smashed, dried and sterilised at a temperature of 300 degrees Celsius to provide clean raw material for the manufacturers.

"Craftsmen then draw or sculpt the cuddly bears by hand for tourists to take home," he said.

Jing said the base was working with a local handicraft company to produce the souvenirs, but their prices have not been set.

The most expensive of the souvenirs will contain a panda hair in each package, he said, stressing that the hair is collected from the wild.