The charmingly naive "Bing Dwen Dwen", the humorous "Garlic Bird" dolls, the industrial cultural and creative symbol of "Made in Zhuzhou"... Each city gift is a bright city card, carrying the city culture, inheriting the city memory, and creating new consumption scenes, formats and models. In October 2023, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Brand Building in the Business Field", proposing to "promote the formation of a batch of 'must buy and must bring' urban gifts that integrate commercial innovation, cultural creativity, and technological empowerment". In recent years, many cities have regarded urban gifts as important carriers for spreading urban culture, shaping urban brands, and extending the cultural and tourism industry chain. Enriching the supply of high-quality tourism products "is included in the outline of the 15th Five Year Plan. May 19th this year is the 16th China Tourism Day. How to create a "portable city memory" that allows consumers to buy more and better city gifts? Not long ago, reporters visited Beijing, Wuhan in Hubei, and Zhuzhou in Hunan to interview collectors, product designers, and brand operators of urban gifts, listening to their exploration and thinking on the development of urban gift characteristics, quality, and systematization. "Dig deeply into the characteristics of the city, and avoid the" one side of a thousand cities "" On the top stream of "Beijing gift", I personally recommend "Bing Dwen Dwen". Guess how many "Dwen Dwen" themed cultural and creative works I have at home? More than 1000 pieces! In addition to the basic model, there are various exclusive products such as the space astronaut version of "Bing Dwen Dwen", "Pier Pier" blind box hidden model. My family joked with me, saying that I am the person with the most 'Dun Dun' collections in the country. To be honest, collecting so many 'pillars' really took a lot of effort. The first time I bought "Bing Dwen Dwen" was in December 2021. At that time, the online official flagship store was empty every time it went on sale. I set an alarm clock and stayed there. I didn't get it for a week in a row. Later, I went to the official flagship store of licensed products for the Beijing Winter Olympics to buy them. Early in the morning, there was a long queue of several hundred meters at the entrance, and everyone was wrapped in thick down jackets waiting in the cold wind. It was not easy to buy a basic plush "Bing Dwen Dwen" and two badges. The feeling of joy is still unforgettable. Why is "Bing Dwen Dwen" on fire? I love its appearance. The cute and adorable image of the "national treasure" giant panda, combined with its ice crystal shell, is soft, cute, and full of technology. I love its essence even more. For example, the flowing bright color lines originate from the "Ice Ribbon" of the National Speed Skating Oval, symbolizing the ice and snow sports track, as well as modern high-tech such as 5G, reflecting the deep integration of winter ice and snow sports with modern technology. Who wouldn't love such a mascot that combines both internal and external elements? There are also many foreign fans who love it. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, I met a foreign friend and gave him a space astronaut version of "Bing Dwen Dwen". A city gift that allows us to overcome language and cultural barriers. Now, he has collected over 300 pieces of "Dun Dun". It has been several years since the Beijing Winter Olympics, but the "Bing Dwen Dwen" has never been popular. Designers combine it with zodiac culture and constantly launch new products: "Rabbit Dwen Dwen", "Dragon Dwen Dwen", "Horse Dwen Dwen"... Why is the "Dwen Dwen" series of cultural and creative products "long red"? Relying on continuous innovation and meticulous cultivation. The constantly changing attire always brings a refreshing feeling. Expressing through everyday life, warm and natural. From collectible ornaments to daily ornaments, refrigerator stickers, etc., the categories continue to expand and fly into ordinary people's homes. The most crucial thing, in my opinion, is that it carries the memory and characteristics of the city, which makes it truly remembered and widely spread. From "Panpan", the mascot of the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, to "Fuwa Jingjing" of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, to "Bing Dwen Dwen" of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the giant panda is a cultural symbol that has witnessed the development of China's sports cause and Beijing's shining on the world stage again and again. As a native of Beijing, in my opinion, "Dundun" as a city gift has already surpassed ordinary cultural and creative products, but is an emotional attachment that carries the collective memory of Beijing, the "dual Olympic city". In addition to the "Dundun" series of cultural creativity, I also bought many other "Beijing gifts", including cultural creativity with the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven and other Beijing landmarks as creative elements, such as the Forbidden City roof figures decorations, the Great Wall relief bookmarks, the Temple of Heaven aromatherapy and other cultural creativity, as well as Beijing intangible cultural heritage, such as rabbit handmade, Beijing embroidery pendant, cloisonne trinkets and so on. Some of these 'Beijing gifts' are for my own collection, while others are for my family and friends. They really like it, saying that through these objects, they can learn about the history and culture of Beijing. To be honest, preparing souvenirs for relatives and friends in other places a few years ago was quite worrying. At that time, what could be bought were mostly simple postcards, landmark models, etc., with a single style, weak design sense, and insufficient practicality and ornamental value. To make a city gift easy to carry and remember, it is necessary to deeply explore the characteristics of the city and avoid a "one size fits all" approach. In 2008, the Beijing Olympics were successfully held, and products such as the "Fuwa" series became popular. Since then, I have been collecting cultural and creative works from sports competitions and giving them as city gifts to my friends and family. In recent years, "Beijing Gift" has been developed into a well-known IP brand, focusing on diversified design expression while exploring local cultural resources such as the Forbidden City, the central axis, and intangible cultural heritage. A series of handicrafts, cultural and creative products that reflect Beijing's urban and cultural characteristics have emerged one after another. There are both large-sized cultural and creative works that showcase the style of a great nation and the grandeur of an ancient capital, as well as small and exquisite objects that are suitable for daily use. History and reality blend together, combining grandeur and refinement. For example, in recent years, the popular refrigerator stickers on Beijing bus stop signs are painted with old-fashioned bus patterns and popular bus routes, which have both a sense of the times and modernity. Many citizens and tourists held refrigerators and posted them in front of landmarks such as the Drum Tower to take photos, and at that moment, history and the present were connected. It should also be noted that behind the uniqueness lies the quality. As a die hard fan, I am well aware of the difficulty of hearing the "Beijing Gift". This brand, created in 2011 and registered in 2014, has gradually established unified certification standards and evaluation criteria, and is no longer just a traditional tourist souvenir. Distinctive features are forged through ingenuity. In that year, after tens of thousands of manuscripts were revised, "Bing Dwen Dwen" was just released. Nowadays, the towering ancient Great Wall and the revitalized hutongs and alleys have become the "Beijing gifts" that convey feelings between us through the design and ingenuity of craftsmen. The tide of the times is surging forward, opening up the richest innovative scenes and the most splendid creative stage for urban gift shops. Traffic brings attention, quality wins people's hearts "" Garlic Bird ", a cute and silly yellow bird cultural and creative doll with green" garlic "on its head, has become popular in the past two years - selected as one of the" Top Ten Companion Gifts "in the second Wuhan, Hubei Province. Since its launch in October 2024, it has sold more than one million pieces and achieved a final sales revenue of about 50 million yuan. As a designer, I am particularly proud. The design inspiration comes from my marriage. In 2016, I went to work in Wuhan and met my wife. She is a local of Wuhan with an outgoing and easy-going personality. When she argues with family and friends, she always says "forget it" and her pronunciation sounds like "garlic bird". This word is a local dialect that conveys the open-minded and optimistic temperament of the Wuhan people. After being together for a long time, she and I inevitably argue. I studied advertising design in college. Once, we had a quarrel, and in order to seek peace, the term "Garlic Bird" provided inspiration. I designed a "Garlic Bird" doll - with an upper body resembling garlic, dyed light green; The lower body resembles a bird, painted light yellow. Having an image, there is still a lack of 'vitality'. So, I recorded a video of myself saying, 'Forget it, forget it, it's not easy either,' and embedded the sound into the built-in press type sound device of the doll. After making it, I showed my wife that we had reconciled as before. She also recorded a video of the doll and shared it on a short video platform, which gained millions of views and many netizens left messages to buy it. Why not start a business here? I searched online for policies, looked at the market, and compared with competitors, and found that although there are many doll products, very few are derived from dialects. The entry of "garlic birds" into the market will surely "take off". My wife and I formed a team and started our own business. At that time, who would have thought that it would be broken through and spread as a city gift? Looking back now, I am filled with emotions: for a good city gift, traffic brings attention, and quality wins people's hearts. Pursuing quality, every effort you make will not be let down. Quality is reflected in the details. Let's talk about the voice first. I don't speak Wuhan dialect, and the dialect of the first version of the doll is not authentic. Local people may feel uncomfortable listening, but outsiders may not understand. I had my wife record it multiple times and use professional software to adjust the high and low frequencies, which resulted in the current sound that is both natural and enjoyable; Speaking of color, I have increased the contrast between green and yellow, which is more eye-catching; There is also production. We have hired tailors from Wuhan to sew them by hand, producing 1000 pieces per month, one stitch at a time. The embroidery work is truly exquisite. The product was sold out just a few days after its launch and received over 3000 orders. Quality comes from the confidence of the manufacturing industry. The product has become popular. To ensure quality and timely delivery, mass production is necessary. I found a doll making factory and signed a bulk production contract. Although the "Garlic Bird" is only 10 centimeters tall, it involves more than 10 crafts such as embroidery, hardware, printing, etc., making it not easy to do well. But in the same month, the factory rushed to produce about 10000 dolls in bulk, and the delivery inspection showed that each garlic clove of the dolls was individually filled with cotton, the fabric was free of burrs, the printed labels were clear, and there were no mercury free batteries built-in... The visible quality indicated the hardness of Chinese manufacturing. Not long after, the first batch of products sold out, and then the second and third batches... were in short supply. In February 2025, I established a company and developed a series of dolls such as Sakura "Garlic Bird" and Chime "Garlic Bird". Garlic Bird takes off, with quality assurance throughout the journey. Later, some counterfeit products appeared on the market, and we sued the relevant companies to the court. The court provided fair justice and cracked down on the shoddy "fake garlic birds". The relevant departments also put our products on official channels such as the "Wuhan Gift" brand flagship store and the "Wuhan Gift" vending machine to support the "True Garlic Bird" platform. At the beginning of this year, we opened our first "Garlic Bird" themed store in Wuhan, displaying all styles of "Garlic Bird" dolls. Although the area is only 10 square meters, people come and go every day, becoming an important platform for promoting the copyright of "Garlic Bird". I have also added a gold chip to the label of the newly developed "Garlic Bird" doll, which is equivalent to its "electronic ID card". Customers can tell that it is a product made by our company as long as they see it. Good quality wins the big market. Nowadays, there are more and more urban gifts derived from dialects. Dialects such as "Cuojin" and "Lianghuo" in Lanzhou are printed on phone cases, clothes, and other products. Changsha dialect "Caoyazi" is made into blind boxes, and Nanchang dialect "Qiagaya" is made into plush toys... These regional cultural symbols with distinctive regional characteristics are vividly moving into memories of nostalgia and cultural movements in the exchange of gifts between people. In 2022, the cultural and tourism department of Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, convened a meeting with major cultural and creative enterprises in the city to plan and launch Zhuzhou's characteristic cultural and creative products, aiming to make urban gifts' long 'into consumers' journey. At that time, many city gifts had already gained fame, and everyone was holding back a strong desire to see, like, and remember their city. After competition, our company has become the brand carrier of "Zhuzhou Gifts"