Overview
- The red Year-of-the-Horse plush surged in popularity after a worker sewed its mouth upside down, giving it a frown.
- Videos using the “crying horse” tag have topped 190 million views on Douyin, fueling sustained demand.
- Yiwu seller Zhang Huoqing increased output to about 15,000 units daily after adding a dozen production lines, according to state media.
- Wholesale orders have arrived from overseas markets including Africa, the Middle East and East Asia as the holiday approaches.
- Young Chinese have embraced the toy as a meme for overwork, often joking the sad version is for the office and the smiling one is for home.