Rubber duck comes to rest in Beijing garden
- By Xu Lin
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 7, 2013
The world popular rubber duck, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, made its debut in Beijing Garden Expo Park on Friday after appearing at 13 destinations around the world.
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A giant rubber duck, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, is floating on a lake in the Garden Expo Park in west Beijing, capital of China, on Sept. 6, 2013. It is scheduled to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with visitors and leave the park on the 23rd. [Photo by Xu Lin / China.org.cn] |
![A giant rubber duck, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, is floating on a lake in the Garden Expo Park in west Beijing, capital of China, on Sept. 6, 2013. It is scheduled to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with visitors and leave the park on the 23rd. [Photo by Xu Lin / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130907/001fd04cf03a1394f6d22c.jpg "A giant rubber duck, designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, is floating on a lake in the Garden Expo Park in west Beijing, capital of China, on Sept. 6, 2013. It is scheduled to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with visitors and leave the park on the 23rd. [Photo by Xu Lin / China.org.cn]")
The display of the rubber duck is among the multiple events launched by the Beijing Design Week, the biggest design festival in Beijing, which runs from September 26 to October 3.
The rubber duck, made of more than 200 pieces of PVC piping, is now floating on a lake which is part of Beijing's "mother river," the Yongding River. According to Qiao Xiaopeng, the executive director of the expo's publicity department, the duck is 18 meters tall, 1.5 meters higher than the one exhibited in Hong Kong during May and June this year. It is fixed by a 5-ton weight, instead of floating freely in the wind.
Qiao said, there is an opening at the back of the duck so that technicians can check on it. In order to keep it inflated, five hot-air blowers are on standby at all times. There is also a complete backup duck in case of emergency.
A number of interactive activities related to the rubber duck will be held at the Expo, including a meeting with children, a painting activity and a parade with rubber duck dolls. "The rubber duck is a pleasant surprise for visitors," Qian said.
The rubber duck is expected to attract more visitors, hopefully more than 75,000 a day, to the expo. In September, the best season for tourism in Beijing, an observation platform has been built by the lake, which can accommodate more than 1,000 visitors. The duck can even be seen from the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed train passing by the lake.
Li Yangyang, Exhibition Director of Beijing Design Week, said that the rubber duck can increase the cultural value of the city. "It is not an artwork exhibited in a museum, but a sculpture in a public urban area. People can get close to the duck and take photos with it." "This will be the highlight of the Beijing Design Week," he added.
Li revealed that the rubber duck is scheduled to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing and will leave the park on the 23rd for the next stop in the city's Summer Palace.
According to Zhang Xin, the Design Director of Beijing Design Week, there will be about 30 kinds of rubber duck souvenirs, including mini ducks, environmentally-friendly bags and postcards. They will be available in franchise stores, , bookstores, post offices and online. Orders can be placed from Sept 8, and will be delivered before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The rubber duck was initially designed to entertain the world a tour launched in 2007 called "spreading joy around the world". It is based on a bathroom toy duck and aims to bring back childhood memories and spread homely happiness.
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