Bing dwen dwen

 

Although the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games drew to a close on Sunday, the merchandise of the phenomenon panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen still remains in high demand in China, pushing factories to boost production to placate a long waiting list of buyers.

On Sunday, which marks the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the Olympic flagship store on Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall.com launched presales for up to one million items of Bing Dwen Dwen, including plush toys, key rings, commemorative coins and pins. 

Presales lasted from 10 am to 9 pm on Sunday, and different types of the merchandise presales were unveiled every hour. The hot demand among consumers led to network congestion according to some consumers on Chinese social media Weibo. 

Take the sales of the special "Spring Festival" version of mascot Bing Dwen Dwen as an example. At least 100,000 special-edition mascot toys were sold out during Sunday's presales in just 37 minutes. 

Beijing 2022 Olympics launched the special "Spring Festival" version of Bing Dwen Dwen as the Games coincided with the traditional Spring Festival. The special edition mascot toys would generate at least 18 million yuan ($2.85 million) in about 30 minutes during the Sunday presales. 

Tmall told the Global Times on Sunday that it was "the largest restocking ever" after statistics showed more than 100 million users were waiting to buy the panda mascot merchandise on the platform in recent days. 

Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall.com launches presales for up to one million items of Bing Dwen Dwen on February 20, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Tmall

"I have been trying to buy a Bing Dwen Dwen key ring for so many days… but once I clicked to buy, it said there was none left," a Weibo user commented online. 

A Beijing-based shopper surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Sunday that she was unable to buy a mascot toy for the past two weeks as the online flagship store has only released 500 units every hour on particular days.

Liu said that the popularity of Bing Dwen Dwen among global consumers is not a surprise as pandas are loved by people around the world. "The booming sales of Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise also reflect the charm of Chinese culture," she said. 

Bing Dwen Dwen, the cuddly mascot for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, shot to fame on Chinese social media during the 16-day Games. 

An ice-suit clad panda, which looks like an astronaut representing China's strides in technology and science, has won wide acclaim among Chinese and international athletes during the Games. 

At the end of Sunday's figure skating exhibition gala, a mascot role-player also put on skates and bid farewell together with world-top skaters to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Figure skaters hug Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen at the figure skating exhibition gala on February 20, 2022 in Beijing. Photo: Li Hao/Global Times