Move over, pear babies, there's a new creepy baby-shaped fruit in town!
Shoppers in Hangzhou have been going gaga over these "ginseng fruit babies" grown in infant-shaped molds and emblazoned with the character for "prosperity."
At RMB25.80 a pop, these "ginseng fruit babies" are not coming cheap, but they are deliberately reminiscent of the magical fruit of the same name from Ming dynasty classic Journey to the West, in which the priceless fruit can absolve your sins and confer immortality. Makes RMB25.80 seem like a bargain, actually.
Owing to the cultural reference, fruit in the shape of babies become a viral sensation at some point every year in China, and this is merely the latest incarnation.
More often that not, however, consumers love taking photos with the fruit and sharing them online, but are sensible enough not to waste their hard-earned cash on cute fruit that's about as likely to be delicious as it is to be magical. Baby fruit might be a great publicity stunt for supermarkets, but unfortunately they're a losing venture for the farmers who grow them.
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