Beijing residents comment day after end of Olympics

The Beijing Winter Olympics has ended but the race for its panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen has not. In the morning following the closing ceremony, hundreds of people stood in line along the Wangfujing pedestrian mall to buy whatever sizes or types of Bing Dwen Dwen they can.

The flagship store staff walked back and forth encouraging people to leave because there were only limited amount products. A notice said a customer can buy no more than five ornaments and two fluffy toys, and other customers can make orders and are expected to receive them in 25 days.

The panda clad in a spacesuit-like clear shell rose to fame all of a sudden and the craze for its fluffy toys, ornaments, key rings became a phenomenon that lasted throughout the Games. Chinese state media Global Times reported the rush for an online presale of up to one million Bing Dwen Dwen caused internet congestion on Sunday.  

College students Lin Weimin and Liu Yuwei waited overnight when temperature dropped to -10 degrees Celsius (14°F) without knowing if they could buy one.