Sharjah24 - AFP :The man behind the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot jokes that he wished he had kept a few more of his cuddly panda creations after they became highly sought after collectables in China.
Bing Dwen Dwen, the official mascot of the Games, has become the latest must-have item for keen fans with long queues at Olympic souvenir shops, and many willing to pay well over the official price to get their hands on one.
Cao Xue, who led the design team, said he was surprised by the craze.
"I thought... that some people might begin to purchase some after the opening of Olympics, but I didn't expect it to be so hot overnight," he told AFP. "Bing Dwen Dwen has become a phenomenon."
"Each of us kept only one Bing Dwen Dwen as a souvenir, which we deeply regret now," he added.
While the name officially means "ice child" in Mandarin, the popular rotund mascot is more colloquially translated as "ice chubster".
However a supply shortage -- attributed to production issues around Chinese Lunar New Year, which coincided with the start of the Olympics -- has seen scalpers selling the toy for ten times its original price of 200 yuan ($30), according to reports.
Police have also warned of scams surrounding Bing Dwen Dwen with online fraudsters pocketing the money and disappearing.
But with spectators largely banned due to Covid-19 restrictions, owning an "ice chubster" may be the closest most people get to the Beijing Games.
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