Chinese ‘Crying Horse’ Toy Surges in Popularity Before Year of the Horse Begins

It’s strange how a defective “crying horse toy” can gain so much popularity in just a few days. Nicknamed the “crying horse” by online users, a red horse toy produced by Happy Sister in Yiwu, China went viral on Chinese social media in the lead-up to this year’s holiday celebrating the “Year of the Horse,” symbolizing high energy and hard work.

On February 17, 2026, the start of the Year of the Horse, shoppers found themselves buying more than 15,000 units daily after the toy gained attention online. The toy originally was meant to wear a broad grin but instead featured an upside-down smile with its nostrils appearing as tears, resulting from a manufacturing error.

Despite this glitch, Zhang Huoqing, owner of Happy Sister, said people joked that the crying horse looked like how they felt at work while the smiling one depicted how they appeared after. The toy’s popularity has led to the opening of ten additional production lines within her factory.

Many Chinese white-collar workers endure a notorious 996 system—working from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week—which is praised by tech entrepreneurs like Jack Ma but has been increasingly criticized since an employee died after completing a late-night shift in 2021. The practice remains common despite being outlawed in that year.

A shopper who bought the toy wrote, “This little horse looks so sad and pitiful; it’s how I feel at work.” Such products and internet memes provide outlets for discussing work pressure on platforms like Xiaohongshu, where consumer culture and emotional expression are tightly intertwined.

Zhang expressed appreciation for the unique mistake, deciding to give bonuses to everyone involved in producing the toy. Meanwhile, wholesale orders have been placed from South Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East. The toy’s image is also expected to appear on a new range of merchandise for next year.