A sad teddy bear: a reflection of Chinese society at the start of the new year

BeijingThe image of a sad toy horse has gone viral as a metaphor, especially among young people, for the mood with which many Chinese citizens are facing the arrival of the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Fire Horse will begin on February 17th. The economic slowdownThe real estate crisis and rising unemployment are impacting public sentiment, and the government remains focused on stimulating domestic consumption. The Chinese New Year festivities, also known as the Spring Festival, are the main holiday period of the year and a time when consumption traditionally skyrockets, driven by family gatherings, travel, entertainment, and gift-giving. This year, the government has adopted a whole host of measures to ensure that these holidays, very similar to our Christmas, further boost spending and reinforce consumer confidence.

The Ministry of Commerce has scheduled a campaign under the slogan "Shop in China." It will take place during the official holiday period—from February 15 to 23. Discounts are being offered at restaurants, accommodations, and on transportation. Discount vouchers are also being given away to support small businesses, especially for the purchase of household appliances and even home renovations. In fact, this year Beijing has added an extra holiday for the first time, extending the official holiday period to nine days, precisely to stimulate domestic consumption and thus start the year with positive economic data.

The Year of the Fire Horse, according to the Chinese horoscope, symbolizes ambition, dynamism, and inexhaustible energy. However, it seems the population lacks confidence that the Chinese economy will ride toward growth. For example, Zhao, a 60-year-old retiree from a state-owned enterprise, says that this year his family will not go on vacation and will not leave Beijing. The reason he gives is that travel and hotel prices are too expensive at this time of year, and they prefer to save money.

His only daughter will not be with him during the main celebration: the dinner on the night of February 16th, when families gather and prepare the traditional dishes. jiaozisZhao says they respect traditions, so his daughter will spend the night with her husband's family, while he and his wife have dinner with his siblings. He will, however, take his four-year-old grandson to one of the fairs with rides and attractions that open in the city's parks.

The reflection of the sad teddy bear

Beijing has a tradition of colorful fairs with games for children, food, and handicrafts. And above all, there are many plush toys, this year in the shape of a horse, which can be won in raffles. And precisely the toy of a sad and melancholic horse has become a way to take the pulse of the social mood.

The famous plush toy, which has become a bestseller and a viral meme, shows a red horse with a disgruntled expression and the Chinese characters "I wish you instant wealth" printed on its back. Young people, especially, have seen themselves reflected in the sadness, and on social media, they claim that the crying horse's face represents their mood due to long working hours and the stress that work causes. Younger generations are seeing for the first time how the economy stagnates and social mobility grinds to a halt.

Xiaxue, a 30-year-old woman, believes her life will be more difficult than her parents'. Although she acknowledges that they had a tougher childhood, she believes that "they later managed to get ahead without much effort because the whole country transformed and their salaries increased."

A production error

Actually, the horse is a production error: the manufacturer, instead of sewing the horse's mouth upwards in a smile, sewed it in reverse, resulting in a sad horse. The mistake has become a huge success for the manufacturer, Zhang Huoqing, who has appeared in the local and international press claiming that he has been forced to increase production due to demand and is producing around 150,000 units a day. The hashtag "crying horse" has appeared nearly 200 million times on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and in millions of conversations on social media.

While waiting to see if domestic consumption picks up, the government has already confirmed that travel will break all records this year. During the holidays, the country comes to a standstill as people travel to their hometowns. For many migrants, it is the only time of year they see their families and spend more time at home than during the actual holidays. chunyun (Chinese acronym for spring and movement) is the 40-day period around the New Year when the largest human migration on the planet takes place. This year, 9.5 billion journeys are expected.