Zoo staff and local officials held a memorial service for a beloved female giant panda that died in Thailand last week.

Footage shows zookeepers laying white flowers at a memorial for Lin Hui, 21, who had been the star attraction of the Chiang Mai zoo before died from an unexpected illness on April 19.

The Buddhist ceremony was held in front of the zoo's panda exhibit on April 26, with 20 monks and Chinese Consul General leading the rites.

Chiang Mai deputy governor Weerapong Ritrod, Chiang Mai Zoo Director Wuttichai Muangman, and zoo employees prayed for Lin Hui, before offerings were given to the attending monks who performed the ceremony.

Lin Hui fell ill on April 18 and passed the following day. Zoo staff have blamed her age for the sudden death.

She was born on September 28, 20001 at the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas in Sichuan province before being gifted to Thailand, along with another panda named Chuang Chuang, in 2003.

Both served as a symbol of friendship and goodwill from the Chinese government.

Chuang Chuang died of heart failure on September 16, 2019.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang successfully bred through artificial insemination and had an offspring named Lin Ping, who was born on May 27, 2009.

Scientists are unsure of the giant panda's lifepsan, but believe they live around 15 to 20 years in the wild, and around 30 years in human care, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said.