"We wish the 2024 Happy Chinese New Year program a grand success!" Taikonauts Jiang Xinlin, Tang Hongbo, and Tang Shengjie sent Chinese New Year greetings to the global Chinese community from the Tiangong Space Station through a video, holding a dragon mascot doll manufactured in Dongguan.
The "Ji Xiang Loong" (吉祥龙) accompanying the astronauts into space is the mascot for the 2024 Happy Chinese New Year program. It was exclusively produced by a toy company in Chashan Town, Dongguan City. It is worth noting that "Bing Dwen Dwen" (冰墩墩), the most popular mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, was also made in Dongguan.
Dongguan's thriving art toy industry is continuously widening its impact, extending its reach overseas and even to space. It shows that the city has become a renowned "Global Manufacturing Hub."
The story of 2024 "Ji Xiang Loong": A New Year blessing from Dongguan
"Ji Xiang Loong" is the mascot for the 2024 Happy Chinese New Year program designed and developed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. Its image was unveiled in Beijing in October 2023. Building upon the typical artistic features of Loong (the Chinese dragon), it creatively incorporates elements such as ingots, auspicious cloud patterns, and Peking Opera facial masks into its design.
Mascot "Ji Xiang Loong" (Photo provided to GDToday)
"Ji Xiang Loong" has become the first Dongguan toy to venture into space. It is manufactured by Dongguan HUGKIS Culture Industry Company（东莞皓奇乐文化产业有限公司）, a toy company based in Chashan Town, Dongguan City.
HUGKIS accomplished the sample production of the "Ji Xiang Loong" plush toy in just 14 days. However, the next challenge was to mass-produce it. The intricate craftsmanship and complex procedures posed significant challenges to the manufacturing process.
According to Li Lin, general manager of HUGKIS, the mascot plush toy's head alone consists of nearly 100 fabric pieces. "Even a skilled worker could not make the toy in one day," Li explained.
Production workshop of the mascot (Photo provided to GDToday)
The company combined PVC with plush materials to solve the production problem. "This technique makes the plush toys more lifelike, and we received praise from the designers for it," Li added.
So far, Dongguan's "Ji Xiang Loong" has been delivered to over 100 countries and regions worldwide. It will be widely used in the 2024 Happy Chinese New Year program activities, creating a festive atmosphere for people around the world.
Mascots made in Dongguan: A turning point for the manufacturing City
Do you still remember Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics?
On February 4, the Year of the Dragon special edition of "Bing Dwen Dwen", called "Loong Dwen Dwen", was unveiled. Just like the "Ji Xiang Loong," this mascot was also produced in Dongguan and manufactured by Deshen Hardware & Plastic Products Company (东莞市德伸五金塑胶制品有限公司).
"Loong Dwen Dwen" (Photo: Official WeChat public account of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China)
In October 2023, Deshen Hardware received a request to design and produce "Loong Dwen Dwen."
"After nearly two months of design, we have made a total of 67 major modifications before the final product design was completed," said Gao Yongguang, general manager of Deshen Hardware.
When the design was completed, the production process posed a significant challenge to the toy company. Gao stated that the difficulty of manufacturing the "Loong Dwen Dwen" lied in the coloring process and the precision work the product needed. The coloring alone required nearly 90 intricate processes, according to Gao.
Dongguan has produced a series of renowned mascots, including the 2024 Year of the Dragon mascot "Ji Xiang Loong," the mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics "Bing Dwen Dwen," and the mascot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar "La'eeb."
"La'eeb," the mascot of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (Photo: Nanfang Daily)
The fact that these mascots are making their way to the world and even reaching space showcased the solid strength of Dongguan's toy industry.
Dongguan is home to over 4,000 toy manufacturing companies and nearly 1,500 upstream and downstream supporting companies, making it the largest toy export base in China. In 2023, the city was awarded the title of "China's Art Toy Capital," a recognition of its status as a hub for trendy and innovative toys.
Statistics showed that a quarter of the global anime-related merchandise was manufactured in Dongguan, and nearly 85% of art toys in China were produced in the city.
Dongguan's "Ji Xiang Loong" not only conveys warm blessings from China, but also showcases the confidence and capabilities of Dongguan manufacturing.
Planned by Jin Yanming
Reported by Xie Maishi
Editor: Nan, Abby, Holly, James
