"Weepy horse" plush toys in various sizes are lined up at a factory in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo: China News Service

The "weepy horse", originally intended as a smiling Year of the Horse figurine, attracted widespread attention after a consumer in Hangzhou shared her purchase online.The unusual design resulted from a worker mistakenly sewing the upturned mouth into a downward curve during production.The unexpected popularity of the defective design has led to a sharp increase in purchase orders,keeping factories working around the clock to fulfill demand.

Zhang Huoqing, a merchant in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, displays a "smiling horse" plush toy and its viral counterpart, the "weepy horse," Jan. 11, 2026. Photo: China News Service

Zhang Huoqing, a merchant in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, smiles as she displays the "smiling horse" and "weepy horse" plush toys, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo: China News Service

A buyer measures the size of a "weepy horse" plush toy in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo: China News Service

A batch of newly produced "weepy horse" plush toy samples is seen at a workshop in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Jan. 11, 2026. Photo: China News Service