This is the latest oddity from China. In recent times, simple stones have become a hot commodity: they play the role of “pet” for some young people, ready to break the bank to get them.
Their “masters” like to draw a nose, a mouth and ears on these pebbles, then stick eyes on them, before installing them in a sort of little nest. Some dress them up, put glasses on them or put makeup on them. We even give them a first name and a date of birth. And this is how perfectly ordinary stones become an object of affection, as if they were real animated beings.
On the Internet, we exchange tips on the best way to take care of these little ones. So, on Xiaohongshu [une sorte d’Instagram local]there are more than 700,000 comments on this subject, which is also the subject of more than 10 million broadcasts on Douyin [la version chinoise de TikTok].
“The stone is rather shy”
Some have taken the trouble to write care guides. For example, they recommend giving the stone a good bubble bath when you bring it home for the first time, “because it can be very fragile”. He is
