Qing-style Peppa Pig cup becomes a hit in China

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The English cartoon character Peppa Pig has gone viral in China and has been placed on products such as toys, watches, bags, and even a porcelain cup using a Chinese traditional painting style.

The cup, featuring blue, green and celadon colors, shows Peppa Pig riding a bicycle through grasslands. Many people link it with Qing Dynasty porcelain, which is famous for its delicately painted landscapes and multicolored enamel designs.

Photo provided by the creator Mr Chen

The creator of the cup, Mr Chen, graduated from the China Academy of Art and majored in Chinese traditional painting. When interviewed by the Beijing Youth Daily, Chen said he just wanted to add something new into his works, and never imagined the cup will become a hit.

It takes Chen 15 hours to finish a Peppa Pig cup but obviously he cannot meet the high demands of hundreds of users who left messages on his social media accounts, showing their interest in purchasing his products.

Chen told CGTN he would just do customized cups for friends and familiar customers and looks forward to cooperating with the copyright owner if there is a chance in the future.

Photo provided by the creator Mr Chen

Although Chen didn’t plan to put the cup into mass production, some copies have emerged on the e-commerce platform Taobao.

One online shop based in Jingdezhen, which is known as China’s porcelain city in eastern Jiangxi Province, has sold out of nearly 200 Peppa Pig cups in just two days, each priced at 399 yuan (about 63 US dollars).

Photo from online shop on e-commerce platform Taobao

Since launching in 2015 in China, the Peppa Pig Show has been a teen sensation for billions of viewers and the cartoon figure also earned popularity among adults thanks to Chines social media, being made into various cute emojis and being featured in many fun videos.

On China’s leading short-video platform Tik Tok, wearing Peppa Pig watches or tattoos is regarded as a symbol of humor among many Vloggers.

Photo from Chinese twitter-like platform Weibo

Entertainment One (eOne), the copyright holder of Peppa Pig Show, decided to open a new theme park in China by 2019 this week and announced to cooperate with a Guangzhou-based animation and toy company Alpha Group Co to further improve the popularity of the brand in the country.