Workers produce Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise at a toy factory in Jinjiang City, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 9, 2022. Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has recently become a smash hit. A licensed manufacturer in Jinjiang has resumed the production of Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise ahead of schedule to ensure adequate supply for the market.(Photo: Xinhua)

Bing Dwen Dwen, the chubby mascot of the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympic Games, has become wildly popular. On Wednesday, a one-hour livestreaming session hosted by people.cn showing Bing Dwen Dwen production attracted as many as 900,000 visitors, as the mascot goes rival in China as well as the world. 

While watching the production, many netizens expressed their eagerness to acquire the souvenirs, suggest the manufacturers "please accelerate the production to meet soaring market demand."

A netizen nicknamed 'xiaoya' said that she was willing to join the production team, noting that there were "too few" workers at the factory.

An employee in the factory showed a finished Bing Dwen Dwen, greatly boosting viewers' enthusiasm about the mascot, with a number of netizens calling for the immediate sale of the toy.

At the end of the livestreaming session, the workers were off work, but the netizens were reluctant to leave, some wanting to make an appointment to continue watching a streaming on Friday.

The cuddly mascot of the Beijing 2022 Olympics topped Chinese social media trending after the opening ceremony. Bing Dwen Dwen-related products also went viral among the Chinese public.

Some people have made an appointment with their local manicurist to get their nails painted with pandas similar to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games mascot. And many residents have showcased their self-made mascots, including panda-featuring snowballs, cakes and sculptures.

For those who want a Bing Dwen Dwen but sadly found it was out of stock in the stores they visited, Chinese manufacturers are mobilizing their workers to return to factories earlier from the Spring Festival holidays, to accelerate the production.

Global Times