CHENGDU • Crowds in a Chinese eatery ignore their drinks to gather adoringly around four fluffy white ducks, phones poised ready for pictures, at the latest addition to China’s growing list of popular animal cafes.
Hey! We Go, a cafe in the centre of the south-western city of Chengdu, is proving perfect fodder for the social media-savvy generation.
The four ducks – a domesticated breed imported from Europe – can retail for the hefty price of 10,000 yuan (S$1,940) a duck.
But the cafe’s star attractions are not for sale. They waddle around from table to table to the delight of customers.
For 78 yuan, patrons can spend up to 90 minutes with the ducks, which appear unflustered as they are held up in front of cameras and smartphones for duck-selfies.
“They’re really fun and very obedient, not like those swimming ducks, which are not obedient,” said customer BBQ Suen, a university student who said she came to visit the cafe immediately after reading about it online.
Mr Luo Yaochi, 26, who co-founded the popular duck cafe with three others, said he came up with the idea when he recently raised his own pet duck.
“Everyone loves ducks,” he said.
Visitors to the cafe can also spend time with the newest arrivals – two miniature “teacup pigs”, who fit neatly inside a pink miniature shopping trolley.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
