Defective ‘Crying Horse’ Toy Gallops to Fame in China Amid Worker Burnout Blues Taipei

By Suraj Karowa /ANW January 28 2026

Toy becomes a popular symbol of workplace fatigue after manufacturing error gave it a frown instead of a smile

– As China gears up for the Lunar New Year on February 17, ushering in the Year of the Horse – a zodiac symbol of vigor and endurance – a quirky factory blunder has birthed an unlikely mascot for the nation’s exhausted workforce: a plush toy horse with a perpetual frown.

Manufactured by Happy Sister, a toy maker in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, the red stuffed horse was designed to beam with a cheerful grin to celebrate the festive season.

But a sewing mishap flipped the smile upside down, transforming it into a sorrowful grimace.

What should have been a broad mouth now resembles tear-streaked nostrils, giving the toy a heartbroken expression that shoppers instantly adored.

The “crying horse” exploded on platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin after photos surfaced in early January.

Netizens hailed it as the perfect emblem of “corporate fatigue,” a nod to the grueling hours defining many white-collar lives.

“This horse looks just like me at my desk – dead inside,” one viral post quipped, amassing millions of views.

Another user, Tuan Tuan Mami, shared: “So sad and pitiful, exactly how I feel dragging through another 996 day.

“The 996 work culture – 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week – remains a grim reality despite a 2021 government crackdown.

A crying horse and a cheerful horse Photograph

Tech moguls like Alibaba’s Jack Ma once praised it as a path to success, but backlash surged after a Pinduoduo employee’s sudden death from overwork that year.

Courts have since ruled against excessive overtime, yet enforcement lags, with surveys showing 70% of urban workers logging extra unpaid hours (China Labour Bulletin, 2025).

Happy Sister owner Zhang Huoqing stumbled into a goldmine. “People joked the crying horse is your face at work, the smiling one after quitting time,” she told Reuters.

Orders skyrocketed to 15,000 units daily by mid-January, forcing the factory to add 10 production lines.

Wholesale deals poured in from South Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, with merchandise like stickers and mugs in the pipeline.

This isn’t isolated serendipity. The toy rides a wave of “ugly-cute” or “shuai chou” aesthetics, where imperfections charm.

Pop Mart’s Labubu – a fanged elf doll – sold out globally in 2025, spawning black-market copies despite crackdowns.

Underground Lafufu factories in Shenzhen sliced open heads to reverse-engineer the frenzy, defying regulators (Guardian, July 2025).

Similarly, the crying horse flips defect into desirability, much like Japan’s kawaii misfits or Blind Box surprises.

Experts see it as emotional venting in a high-pressure society. “Memes and merch become safe spaces to air work woes, blending consumerism with catharsis,” says Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies.

On Xiaohongshu, posts mix toy unboxings with burnout rants, evading censors who scrutinize direct labor critiques.

Zhang never pinpointed the culprit behind the upside-down snout. “No one fessed up, so bonuses for all,” she laughed, turning error into employee perk.The phenomenon echoes broader trends.

Last summer, glum Chinese grads went viral with “misery selfies” amid youth unemployment hitting 17% (Guardian, June 2023).

Toys like these offer solace, much as “lying flat” (tangping) did during zero-COVID lockdowns – a passive rebellion against hustle culture.

Internationally, the horse’s woes resonate. In the U.S., “quiet quitting” and Great Resignation waves highlighted similar fatigue; in Japan, karoshi (death by overwork) claims hundreds yearly.

As China’s economy stabilizes post-2025 slowdown, with GDP growth at 4.8%, such symbols humanize the grind.For now, the crying horse trots on, a plush protest against perfection.

Will it inspire real change, or just more plush sales? In Yiwu factories, workers might settle for the latter – and a bonus.