18-meter-high Rubber Duck ready to meet Beijingers

Beijing’s rubber duck is 18-meter-high, taller than the 16.5-meter version displayed in Hong Kong. In case of emergency, for example, the deflation incident in Hong Kong, the organizer Beijing Design Week (BJDW) has prepared two rubber ducks.

The rubber duck is the gift from BJDW’s guest city Amsterdam. When the duck came to Hong Kong in May, it won the hearts of locals and attracted eight millions of visitors. The duck fever in Hong Kong facilitated the visit of Hofman’s duck artwork to Beijing and an officer with Dutch embassy in Beijing said she hoped to see the yellow duck engage a wider audience in Beijing.

The duck will be on display in the park from Sept. 6 to 23 and then it will be moved to Summer Palace on Sept. 26 and stay there till Oct. 26.

The deflation drama in Hong Kong captured more Chinese people’s eyes thanks to weibo, a twitter-like Chinese service. A Chinese rubber duck fan club is also founded, vowing to protect copyright of rubber-duck-related products sold in China. However, the yellow duck that was inspired by the bath duck in ordinary western family has encountered some indifferent voices in China, which said that they cannot associate the big toy to their childhood.

The choice of the rubber duck’s homes in Beijing evoked complaint online as well, although the two parks have promised that they won’t hike the ticket price during the exhibition.

If people want to view Hofman’s duck in the Beijing Garden Expo Park, they have to pay 100 yuan ($16.34) for the park ticket first, and in Summer Palace, people have to pay 30 yuan. While in its previous stays in cities outside Chinese mainland, the duck was installed in public areas and displayed free of charge.

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