Taiwan: Typhoon-damaged post boxes draw crowds

Still standing: The post boxes emerged from the storm as internet stars

A pair of typhoon-battered post boxes have become an unlikely local attraction in Taiwan's capital, Taipei.

People have been queuing for up to half an hour to take pictures alongside the lop-sided boxes, which were hit by a falling billboard when Typhoon Soudelor struck the island on Saturday. A couple of postmen have even been deployed to keep the queue in order. "If people want to, we also pose with them in the pictures," one of the men tells Taiwan's Apple Daily.

People have been sharing their photos on a Facebook page set up in the boxes' honour, and the images have gone viral in mainland China, where thousands of social media users are talking about them. "Look at them holding onto each other in the storm!" Sina Weibo Weibo user Jiayun Baihe says. "It's so cute!" But others think it's overshadowing the destruction wrought by the storm, which killed at least 20 people and forced hundreds of thousands to leave their homes. "The news wouldn't be so funny if the sign fell on two people instead of two post boxes, would it?" Taiwanese actress Nita Lei says on her Facebook page.

Taiwan's post office says it will preserve the boxes in their current state to commemorate the storm, but will secure their bases so that they can be kept in service. And for those fans who feel a photograph isn't enough, a line of souvenirs is also in the works.

People have been lining up around the block to get a photo with the boxes

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