An elf that does not toy with adults

Tang Xianyue's curated collection boasts dozens of Labubu figures and plush dolls in her bedroom. Her daily ritual begins at the wardrobe: choosing a Labubu, a nine-toothed elf with a creepy-cute grin, as a bag charm in accordance with her own outfit.

Like others, she also finds it fun to re-dress the plush dolls, swapping hats, layering necklaces and mixing tops and bottoms.

"It's like stepping back into childhood make-believe worlds of playing doll dress-up. I feel happy when I look at my Labubu doll dangling from my bag," says Tang, 30, a State-owned enterprise worker in Dongying, Shandong province.

"Labubu defies the standardized and cookie-cutter cuteness. Instead, it mirrors the imperfect yet authentic vitality within all of us. Unlike characters tied to specific cartoons, Labubu allows you to freely project your own emotions onto it however you wish."

When global stars like Rihanna and David Beckham, along with influencers from home and abroad, sport Labubu dolls on their bags, the whimsically mischievous elf turns into a symbol of trendy lifestyle, drawing more people to take notice.

Labubu belongs to a group of magical characters called The Monsters, created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung in 2015, inspired by Nordic fairy tales.

In 2018, Chinese toy company Pop Mart signed The Monsters series and launched the first-generation blind boxes of mini figures.

Pop Mart's official data showed that in 2024, The Monsters achieved a revenue of 3.04 billion yuan ($423.3 million), a year-on-year increase of 726.6 percent, making it the company's top-grossing intellectual property, or IP.

Tang fell in love with Labubu in 2020, when the character was dismissed by her friends as "weird-looking". Little did anyone predict that it would explode into a global sensation commanding expensive prices.

"Each blind box delivers instant joy and stress relief. It's like a tiny emotional rollercoaster, with a thrill ride of nervous, anticipation and surprise. I have collections of different characters on shelves, not only Labubu, and they help melt away the day's fatigue after work," she says.

She often snaps up Labubu products on Pop Mart's app or WeChat mini-program the moment restock alerts hit, and the products sell out in seconds because of Labubu's huge fame. Now it's a race against scalpers hoarding stock and inflating secondhand market prices.

She lost in this buying spree.

"I did not buy any since June (because all products were sold out).Popular plush toys sell for more than 10 times their original retail price in the secondhand market, let alone some rare editions," she says.

"The inflated prices are exorbitant. The true value of art toys resides in creative design and cultural resonance, not market manipulation and speculation."