Podcast: Story in the Story (6/28/2019 Fri.)
People's Daily app
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From the People's Daily app.

And this is Story in the Story. 

Art toy collector Lyu Min, a self-confessed "doll addict" who works for an advertising agency in Beijing, buys small dolls from vending machines every week. 

What makes her excited is the purchasing experience, which is like a lucky draw. She does not know which doll she has got until she opens the packaging. 

The toy that fascinates Lyu the most is called "Molly", a palm-sized doll with yellow hair, big eyes and pursed lips. Lyu spends at least 2,000 yuan ($300) a year collecting different versions of Molly. 

"Molly is so cute. She never fails to cheer me up when I'm in a low mood," the 25-year-old said. 

Last year, more than 4 million Molly dolls were sold in China, according to Pop Mart, which designs and produces the toy. 

Today's Story in the Story looks at how the market for designer dolls is growing in China in line with higher standards of living.

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A 37-meter-tall inflatable figure floats in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, last month. (Photo: China Daily)

"Molly is one of the representatives of art toys. Years ago, art toys were only adored by a small group of people. Now, they are much more popular in China," Wang Ning, CEO of Pop Mart, said. 

The company has 84 stores and 270 vending machines selling art toys across China, most of them in first-tier cities. Most of the consumers are aged 30 or younger, according to Wang. 

Art toys, also known as designer toys, or trendy toys, are normally delicately designed by artists. Most have no expression on their face, which allows collectors to inject their own emotions, Wang said. 

Limited versions are especially expensive. On the e-commerce platform Taobao, a secondhand Molly wearing an astronaut's uniform costs more than 500 yuan, at least twice its original price. 

In addition to Molly, Pucky, whose name originates from the figure "Puck" in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, is another art toy image that has lots of young fans in China. 

The most recent art toy to catch the public's eye is a 37-meter-tall inflatable figure by Brian Donnelly, an artist from the United States who is known professionally as KAWS. In April, the toy floated in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. 

Chen Shaofeng, vice-dean of the Institute for Cultural Industries at Peking University, said the craze for art toys among young Chinese has been sparked by higher standards of living. 

"Growing up in better living conditions, young people have a higher demand for cultural consumption. They try to express themselves by buying art toys, delivering the message that they are unique and trendy," Chen said. 

Liang Mei, president of the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association, said art toys satisfy psychological needs: "Many adults have doll complexes, which cannot be changed by time."

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Visitors take photos at the 2018 Beijing Toy Show in September. (Photo: China Daily) 

Another factor boosting the art toy market is modern, fast-paced lifestyles. 

"The popularity of idols such as Transformers and Captain America is driven by films and animation, but many people are too busy to become familiar with cartoon icons. Therefore, a simple and interesting art toy image, which is much less demanding in terms of time and understanding, has become sought after," Wang said. 

Jian Jia, an art toy collector in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, said: "Before 2016, I only paid attention to Japanese art toys. But now, the Chinese ones are awesome, too." 

Last year, the value of China's toy market reached 70.48 billion yuan, a rise of 9 percent from 2017, according to the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association. 

China's cultural and creative industry is rising alongside the booming toy market. Pop Mart's designers hail from all over the world, including the Republic of Korea, Japan and Germany. 

Wang said animation giants such as Universal Studios and Walt Disney have sought to collaborate with Pop Mart to roll out art toys. 

Every year the Beijing Toy Show is the place to be for a glimpse of the latest art toys. It is the biggest event for designer toys in China. 

"There are many interesting toys here. Each has its own characteristics. I can feel the artists' emotions through their designs," said one visitor. 

Many popular toy brands also showed up, including Molly, Pucky and Labubu. 

"The art toy market in China is only in a starting-up stage, but it is growing at a very fast speed. I think it will grow even faster in the future. Looking at the visitors, you can see they are people of different genders, age groups and professions. They can all find their own favorites here," said Wang. 

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Brian Lowe, Lance Crayon, Paris Yelu Xu and Chelle Wenqian Zeng. Music by: bensound.com. Text from China Daily and CGTN.)