Rubber Duck lands in Beijing(2)

Officials initially thought Rubber Duck's nose just needed air, but later realized its beak was attached incorrectly. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Kids love this Peking duck

Onlookers flocked to Beijing Garden Expo Park to get a look at the giant replica of the famous children's toy, unphased by the pointy nose.

Four-year-old Yang Zihan, catching sight of the duck, started running and screaming.

"Giant rubber duck! Giant rubber duck!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He turned to face his mother.

"Stand still. Let me take a picture of you!" she said, mobile phone in hand. "Now jump up. Look! This picture is nice!"

Yang and his mother Li Jiaping got up at 7 am on Friday morning and arrived at the Garden Expo Lake as soon as the gate opened to the public. Yang skipped kindergarten and his mother took a day off from work just to get a first glimpse of the bird, which was widely admired and discussed on the Internet when it splashed down in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor in May. It will stay at the Beijing Garden Expo Park until September 23, and then move to the lake at the Summer Palace from September 26 to October 26.

"Rubber Duck is quite famous. I saw many pictures of it on the Internet before, when it arrived in Hong Kong. But I've never seen it with my own eyes. So it feels like a novelty. I think it's worthwhile to take a look. Today is Friday, so it's less crowded. We wanted to avoid the crowds over the weekend," said Li.

The duck rests quietly on the 246-hectare Garden Expo Lake, part of a green belt that stretches along the Yongding River. Enthusiastic visitors took photo after photo with the bird.

Zhang Xueyi, 14, a high school student from Huilongguan High School in Beijing, came to visit Rubber Duck with a group of students organized by his school. He said that he would prefer to see more small ducks with it. Zhang also expressed disappointment that the duck is stationary.

"I would give a thumbs up if the duck could swim around the lake. And why is there only one duck? There should be a group of ducks. Because ducks usually appear in a group, like a bigger duck leading a group of smaller ducks," Zhang said. "Nevertheless, it's worth seeing no matter what. It's a quite famous duck. And so many people are coming to see it."

Shang Junfei, 14, said, "It looks very much like the little duck in our bathing pool. I guess the reason why people like it so much is that people prefer to see the ducks strike back - this duck is larger than people."

Emergency plans

Zeng said Beijing has made two identical ducks just in case one deflates, as happened in Hong Kong.

Much thought has been given to contingency plans. "We will temporarily segregate a safe area around the lake in the Beijing Garden Expo Park to ensure orderly viewing, if necessary," he said.

Zeng added they decided against exhibiting the duck in the downtown area because the display period coincides with the heavy traffic of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday.

There is no extra charge to see the duck, but people need to pay 100 yuan ($16) and 30 yuan to visit the Garden Expo Park and the Summer Palace respectively, the same as the two parks' normal price.

Zhang Xin, design director of the Beijing Design Week, said that 30 kinds of Rubber Duck merchandise will be on the market before the Mid-Autumn Festival. The price for small rubber ducks will be 99 yuan and 299 yuan.

There is even a China Rubber Duck fan club, headed by the pop star Lin Yilun.

"People like me who have kids are enthusiastic about the duck. Remember how having a rubber duck in the bathtub would make you feel happy and warm?" Lin told Metropolitan. The fan club plans to organize charity activities to give disadvantaged children a chance to see the duck.

Quanjude, Beijing's famous roast duck restaurant, has created an 80-cm-tall duck-shaped steamed bun as a tribute, and duck-shaped Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns have appeared in Hong Kong.