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A giant rubber duck manufactured by a company in Guangzhou. Photo: Screenshot from Taobao
Opinion
Patrick Boehler
Patrick Boehler

Want your own giant rubber duck? Buy one on Taobao

Patrick Boehler
Patrick Boehler
Why you can trust SCMP
If you enjoy the giant rubber duck floating in Victoria Harbour and cannot bear its scheduled departure on June 9, you can now buy one for yourself.

"We have been making giant rubber ducks for many years," said a KK Inflatable saleswoman, identified only by her surname Kuang. "We didn't just start this year."

The 16.5-metre-tall inflatable Rubber Duck art installation floats on the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Photo: EPA
The Guangzhou-based producer of inflatables sells versions of the yellow duck on Taobao, China's largest shopping site. Your very own supersized bath accessory could even be 3.5 metres taller than the 16.5-metre-high installation now floating in Hong Kong's harbour.

A smaller two-metre-tall duck comes at a bargain of 2,800 yuan (HK$3,500). An inflatable the size of Hong Kong's Rubber Duck by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman comes with a price tag of 118,000 yuan. The 20-metre-tall über-duck costs 149,800 yuan. The company also sells air pumps for 200 yuan. 

The bird's colour can be changed upon request, and delivery costs apply. The company also offers a three-year warranty for your duck, but does not have a return policy.

Kuang declined to say how many of the ducks she has sold so far, but large rubber ducks have already started to appear thoughout mainland China.
Another company in Nanjing sells for 3,000 yuan four-metre-tall inflatables that are less authentic-looking. "Our ducks don't float," cautioned a saleswoman surnamed Liu. A nine-metre-tall duck can be ready for shipping within China in a week.

KK Inflatable advises the use of a wet cloth or a broom to clean the duck. If you're tired of ducks, Kuang's company also sells supersized inflatable beer cans, fighter jets and Mexican bandits.

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