Toying with an idea of companionship

Qiu dresses her toys, takes them on outings and even seeks out craft enthusiasts on social media to customize toys' faces — a process referred to as "face reshaping", which involves tailoring techniques to make the plush toys look cuter.

While these activities resemble parenting, to Qiu, her actions don't carry any deeper meaning.

"They're just toys to me — visually appealing and providing aesthetic satisfaction, but I don't attach deeper emotions to them," she says.

Similarly, Gao buys clothes for her toys, and wears "parent-child outfits" — identical clothes as that of her toys, but she denies that it's a maternal mindset.

"My relationship with them is more of friendship, and I'd feel better when these toys of mine accompany me during many moments," Gao says.

To cater to the increasing buying power of the young people and their aesthetic preferences, more and more organizations making or selling cultural and creative products have embraced this trend.

For example, the Gansu Provincial Museum released "Gansu spicy hotpot" plush toys, making cute characters based on meat balls, fungus and crabs. Another creative product making company from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, gave birth to a plush toy brand, Romomo, making "weirdo" roujiamo (Chinese-style meat-stuffed hamburger).

To attract more young adults, these cultural and creative products have all added expressive faces to furry toys.

Yu Hexin contributed to this story.