Two workers erect a Trump rooster. (Photo: Yang Hui/GT)
A designer looks at a 3D model of the rooster on a computer. (Photo: Yang Hui/GT)
Donald Trump has become a Spring Festival mascot for Chinese people following his election win in November 2016.
At a factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province workers are busy sewing, cutting and inflating balloons that resemble the tycoon. Large roosters with Trump's signature hairdo stand all over the workshop floor.
The factory started making these balloons this week to mark the beginning of the Year of the Rooster, which is coming this month. It has hired designers to generate 3D computer models and hired about 20 workers to cut, sew and inflate the balloons with air night and day.
The roosters range from 5 to 20 meters tall and vary in price, starting from 2,600 yuan ($377). A worker at the factory claims most of its orders are coming from overseas and that it has already sold 30 samples. He does not know who the buyers are or how the balloons will be used.
Since Trump won the presidential election, he has been as much of an unavoidable topic on the Chinese Internet and media as he has in their Western counterparts. His bold words, actions and flamboyant personal style have made him an endless source of jokes and arguments, with many Chinese netizens openly endorsing or criticizing him.
Chinese manufacturers and retailers have jumped on this money-making opportunity.
Last month, a giant rooster sculpture with Trump's signature wavy hairdo and hand gestures was erected outside a shopping mall in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi Province.
The mall's designer told the media that ever since the sculpture was erected, the mall has seen more customers than it usually would at this time of year. Some miniature versions of similar sculptures are also being sold on Taobao, the Chinese e-commerce giant owned by Alibaba.
