At Yiwu International Trade City, China’s largest wholesale market, customers have flocked to a small shop seeking an unusual bestseller ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities. The item in question is a red plush horse with a downturned mouth, adorned with a gold bell and eyes that appear almost shy or unseeing.
Popularized on Chinese social media, this toy was originally intended as a cheerful Lunar New Year decoration but encountered a manufacturing error during production, resulting in the horse’s smile becoming a frown. The owner of Happy Sister, Zhang Huoqing, explained that a worker sewed the mouth incorrectly by placing it upside down accidentally.
Zhang offered refunds to customers who returned the toy but discovered photos of it circulating online shortly thereafter. When she examined these posts, users began joking about its portrayal, noting that the smiling horse represented post-work leisure while the crying one depicted pre- or mid-work conditions. The humor sparked demand among younger white-collar workers in China, who found the horse’s somber expression relatable to their often long hours and workplace stress.
In line with this trend, other manufacturers have also produced “ugly-cute” toys popularized by characters like Pop Mart’s Labubu, a toothy monster. Lou Zhenxian, who has been selling festive toys for over two decades in Yiwu, reports that almost every customer now requests the crying horse.
By early afternoon on the day of the story’s publication, Happy Sister had sold out of its racks of crying horses, leading Zhang to declare her intention to continue selling this product. She believes the toy resonates with modern working people, who find the horse’s expression aptly reflecting their daily work realities.