In the land of pandas, mascots with their effigies are rare.
Several hundred Chinese spent the night of Sunday February 6 to Monday February 7 outside, in front of the entrance to a souvenir shop in Beijing.
A wait of several dozen hours in the hope of obtaining "Bing Dwen Dwen", the panda plush, official mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“It's a limited edition so you have to queue for a long time.
Even the people who arrived at 2 or 3 a.m. couldn't get any,” explains Li, who had arrived the day before at 6 p.m. to snatch a copy of this chubby plush.
A little further on, another fan did not have the same luck: “I arrived at midnight.
There were only 300 items but 600 people were in front of me”, breathes the one who still managed to get one by buying it from another customer.
He still had to pay 160 euros, almost ten times his price, before being caught up by other customers who also wanted to outbid him.
“Earlier, there were a lot of people around me who wanted to buy her back from me.
I can't sell it, otherwise I can't have any more."
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While the Olympic Games are subject to Covid-related restrictions, the mascot is the way for some spectators to keep a link with the sports festivities.
In recent days, China has faced a shortage of panda souvenirs and many fans are leaving the souvenir shops disappointed after long hours of waiting.
"Due to the Spring Festival, it's a holiday in China.
Many factory workers take their leave at home, which has affected the supply of official products,” said Zhao Weidong, a spokesperson for the Organizing Committee.
"We are currently trying to coordinate the production and supply of Bing Dwen Dwen," he tried to reassure.