Toying with an idea of companionship

As more young people see eye to eye in these fluffy toys, the careers of some influencers even began to prosper, thanks to the growing trend. Wang Yaowei, 26, a graduate from the Macau University of Science and Technology, is one of them.

The online influencer, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has more than 6,000 followers on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. Besides being an internet operation officer of an internet enterprise, he earns extra money by testing and commenting on new plush toys for toy-making companies.

Before being an influencer, he bought each of his own toy collections.

Among all the plush animals, his most favorite one is LinaBell, an energetic pink fox, from the Disney toyline Duffy and Friends introduced by Shanghai Disneyland in 2021.

"Her unique design, naughty personality and interactions with visitors all bring me joy that temporarily relieves my worries," he claims.

It was said that more than 80 small plush keychains of the character were released, including ones with holiday-themed costumes. Wang would take corresponding small plush toys to work during festivals, such as the Halloween or Christmas, to create a sense of ceremony, he says.

Qiu Jiangyi, 30, a Hangzhou-based human resources worker from the jewelry industry, also loves collecting plush toys.

In order to acquire out-of-stock editions, she scours platforms selling secondhand goods, private groups and US e-commerce company eBay, or asks overseas buyers, representatives or friends to shop for them.

In order to obtain her favorite toys, once she finds there are stocks of them online, she would often click quickly to snap them up, or even pay more money, say several times the original price, to secure her purchase.