China, homeland of the panda, has failed to produce enough souvenirs of the symbol of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics: the Bing Dwen Dwen, a panda on ice skates that the government has chosen as the official mascot of the Games.
This was admitted today by Zhao Weidong, spokesman for the Organizing Committee of the Olympics.
With spectators largely banned from the stands due to anti-Covid restrictions, owning a Bing Dwen Dwen souvenir has become almost a must.
Not surprisingly, the demand exceeds the supply and the national media speak of long queues in one of the main souvenir shops in the capital.
According to Zhao Weidong, supply problems stem from the Lunar New Year holidays, which coincide with the Olympics.
"Due to the spring festival we are still in a holiday season. Many of the factory workers are vacationing at home, so the supply of licensed products has been affected," said Zhao Weidong.
"We are striving to coordinate the production and supply of Bing Dwen Dwen," she added.
Meanwhile, Chinese social media are recording user complaints.
A hashtag asking for 'One (Bing Dwen) Dwen per family' generated 210 million views on the Weibo platform today.