STORY: "Chinese hamburger" toys captivate youth with creative design, consumption scenarios   
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Nov. 15, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:32
LOCATION: XI'AN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the stuffed toy ROMOMO
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG BO, Designer of ROMOMO

STORYLINE:

"Roujiamo," is a common street-food item in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Also known as the "Chinese hamburger," this mouth-watering food is no longer limited to restaurants, but is also emerging in toy stores.

Now, a palm-sized stuffed toy ROMOMO, modeled on the "Chinese hamburger," with a smiley face and small limbs, has gone viral in Xi'an, igniting a buying frenzy since its debut this past summer.

Young locals and tourists sometimes wait in line for over an hour to snag their ROMOMO toys.

Young people are also eager to share their shopping experiences on social media. Meanwhile, ROMOMO employees broadcast the interactions on livestream platforms, generating over 50,000 daily views recently.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG BO, Designer of ROMOMO
"The design inspiration of 'roujiamo' is an exploration of our own local culture. It is the most iconic representative of Shaanxi's culinary culture.
People may get stressed out with work and life. So they need something, whether they are toys or other cultural and creative products, to relax. As part of the cultural and creative industries, we have the responsibility to create such interesting and relaxing toys for everyone."

China's cultural and creative market is rapidly evolving. 

According to a report by Zhiyan Consulting, its market size reached 16.38 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of over 13.09 percent. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xi'an, China.
(XHTV)