A father and daughter enjoy Rubber Duck after its emergency beak repairs. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Families flooded to the much anticipated migration of the giant Rubber Duck art installation to Beijing on Friday, an event slightly marred by a mutation on the 6-story-tall inflatable bird's beak that made it resemble a chicken.

Originally, officials at Beijing Garden Expo Park believed the pointy beak was because the children-friendly art installation by Dutch designer Florentijn Hofman, which drew rave reviews during its stay in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor in May, had not been adequately inflated. Officials on Friday used five giant mechanical blowers in a desperate attempt to puff out the bill to more duck-like dimensions.

This plan didn't work. Zeng Hui, a deputy director of the Beijing Design Week (BDW) organizing committee office, which is in charge of introducing Rubber Duck to Beijing, on Sunday said an investigation revealed the problem was that the bill was attached to the 18-meter-tall Rubber Duck's head vertically instead of horizontally.

"According to our investigation and communication with the designer Mr. Hofman, it's because the Beijing company which made the duck didn't strictly follow the design drawing."

A team of 20 people worked through the night on Friday and repaired the deformed bill just hours before the park opened again on Saturday. "This incident warned us that only the correct production of the design drawings can ensure the best representation of the good design," Zeng noted.

"We are making efforts every day to ensure the proper functioning of the pumping machines, and doing inspection work to ensure that emergencies are dealt with properly and promptly."

Officials initially thought Rubber Duck's nose just needed air, but later realized its beak was attached incorrectly. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Kids love this Peking duck

Onlookers flocked to Beijing Garden Expo Park to get a look at the giant replica of the famous children's toy, unphased by the pointy nose.

Four-year-old Yang Zihan, catching sight of the duck, started running and screaming.

"Giant rubber duck! Giant rubber duck!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He turned to face his mother.

"Stand still. Let me take a picture of you!" she said, mobile phone in hand. "Now jump up. Look! This picture is nice!"

Yang and his mother Li Jiaping got up at 7 am on Friday morning and arrived at the Garden Expo Lake as soon as the gate opened to the public. Yang skipped kindergarten and his mother took a day off from work just to get a first glimpse of the bird, which was widely admired and discussed on the Internet when it splashed down in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor in May. It will stay at the Beijing Garden Expo Park until September 23, and then move to the lake at the Summer Palace from September 26 to October 26.

"Rubber Duck is quite famous. I saw many pictures of it on the Internet before, when it arrived in Hong Kong. But I've never seen it with my own eyes. So it feels like a novelty. I think it's worthwhile to take a look. Today is Friday, so it's less crowded. We wanted to avoid the crowds over the weekend," said Li.

The duck rests quietly on the 246-hectare Garden Expo Lake, part of a green belt that stretches along the Yongding River. Enthusiastic visitors took photo after photo with the bird.

Zhang Xueyi, 14, a high school student from Huilongguan High School in Beijing, came to visit Rubber Duck with a group of students organized by his school. He said that he would prefer to see more small ducks with it. Zhang also expressed disappointment that the duck is stationary.

"I would give a thumbs up if the duck could swim around the lake. And why is there only one duck? There should be a group of ducks. Because ducks usually appear in a group, like a bigger duck leading a group of smaller ducks," Zhang said. "Nevertheless, it's worth seeing no matter what. It's a quite famous duck. And so many people are coming to see it."

Shang Junfei, 14, said, "It looks very much like the little duck in our bathing pool. I guess the reason why people like it so much is that people prefer to see the ducks strike back - this duck is larger than people."

Families are thrilled to see the famous Rubber Duck for themselves. Photo: Li Hao/GT
 

Rubber Duck on Friday, before its nose was repaired.Photo: Li Hao/GT
 

A mother and son pose with Rubber Duck on Sunday, after its nose job.Photo: Li Hao/GT

Emergency plans

Zeng said Beijing has made two identical ducks just in case one deflates, as happened in Hong Kong.

Much thought has been given to contingency plans. "We will temporarily segregate a safe area around the lake in the Beijing Garden Expo Park to ensure orderly viewing, if necessary," he said.

Zeng added they decided against exhibiting the duck in the downtown area because the display period coincides with the heavy traffic of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday.

There is no extra charge to see the duck, but people need to pay 100 yuan ($16) and 30 yuan to visit the Garden Expo Park and the Summer Palace respectively, the same as the two parks' normal price.

Zhang Xin, design director of the Beijing Design Week, said that 30 kinds of Rubber Duck merchandise will be on the market before the Mid-Autumn Festival. The price for small rubber ducks will be 99 yuan and 299 yuan.

There is even a China Rubber Duck fan club, headed by the pop star Lin Yilun.

"People like me who have kids are enthusiastic about the duck. Remember how having a rubber duck in the bathtub would make you feel happy and warm?" Lin told Metropolitan. The fan club plans to organize charity activities to give disadvantaged children a chance to see the duck.

Quanjude, Beijing's famous roast duck restaurant, has created an 80-cm-tall duck-shaped steamed bun as a tribute, and duck-shaped Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns have appeared in Hong Kong.

Copycat ducks

At least 10 counterfeit replicas have already popped up in other mainland cities, including Dongguan in Guangdong Province, Tianjin, Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province and Wuhan in Hubei Province, according to a report by the South China Morning Post on August 29.

And on Thursday, the day before the authentic duck's debut, a smaller inflated duck promoting environmental awareness appeared in Beijing's Yuyuantan Park, accompanied by seven inflated duck eggs with "green dream" written on them in Chinese.

Wang Jun, an intellectual property consultant for BDW, said that they were investigating these cases for intellectual property right infringement.

"We need to find out whether it was for the public interest, and whether they constitute infringement. If it's serious infringement on copyright, we can demand they to stop infringing, apologize, and compensate us for losses."

Zeng said BDW, the official copyright holder in China, is against copyright infringement, and is planning to take legal action against the real estate developer that launched a copycat Rubber Duck at Nanhaizi Park in Daxing district last week.

"Our legal team has sent them a letter. But we are not doing this just for the sake of litigation. We hope all of us can enjoy the happiness brought by the authentic Rubber Duck."

A Garden Expo official predicted record crowds of families and other visitors during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, which will be celebrated September 19 to 21.