'Something healing in being silly': Why China’s youth raise 'weird pets' for companionship
Experts say the trend reflects rising loneliness and urban pressure among Chinese youth.
From mango pits to blobs of toothpaste and jars of yeast, Chinese Gen Zers are finding joy in raising quirky “pets”. (Image: Xiaohongshu/Maolizi, Xi, Ahzhuzaozao)
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SINGAPORE: Most people would wash away excess toothpaste after brushing their teeth.
But not Celeste Shao.
The 23-year-old, from Jiangsu province in eastern China, went viral for “raising” a blob of blue toothpaste as a pet after it was “born in the sink”.
Shao shared multiple steps for looking after her little toothpaste blob in that has garnered more than 95,000 likes and 12,000 comments since its publication in August 2024.
“It needs to be watered regularly or it will slowly dry out. After being watered, it becomes plump and hydrated again,” she said in a series of lighthearted captions.
“When you’re bored, you can watch it surf. Surfing helps maintain its moisture but will also shorten its lifespan,” she added.
But one might argue that Shao’s toothpaste blob has not been the weirdest pet on the Chinese internet.
Over the past year, “mango dogs” - the act of “grooming” leftover mango seeds to look like cute and fluffy creatures, and pet rocks - with carefully crafted names and personalities - have been other strange hobbies gaining popularity among lonely and often stressed out Chinese Gen Zers.
“It’s very interesting and I feel like it resonates with others too,” Shao told 鶹ý.
“I’m very busy at work and don’t have the energy to keep a real pet so a short-term “pet” like this lets me enjoy the fun of caring for a companion.”
Not to be outdone, “yeast pets” have also taken over Chinese social media sites, with many users giving their jars affectionate names like “Yeast Baby” or “Little Bub” and sharing pictures and tips for fermenting and raising yeast mixtures of flour and water.
Many have compared the process to raising virtual pets like Tamagotchi toys, which were hugely popular among children and teenagers during the early 2000s.
“You don’t need to walk it or clean up after it but it’s alive,” said Xiao Xiao, a home baker from Shenzhen who has been actively documenting her journey raising a sourdough starter on Xiaohongshu.
“It grows, breathes and responds to care,” she said.
“When I open the lid and see bubbles forming, it makes me strangely happy.”
Another baker by the user handle Peach, told 鶹ý that she finds joy in the process of fermenting yeast – whether she’s baking or just for fun. “Every time I open the container lid, I see the live yeast moving, and it’s really exciting,” she said.
Just like taking care of real pets, keeping yeast alive requires commitment like feeding it daily with flour and water, she added.
She has been raising her own “yeast baby” for a few months and shared that the process was not easy especially during winter months because of colder temperatures.
“Of course (it brings emotional value), just like raising an animal,” she said.
“When it’s going well, it makes you happy. You have to feed it every day, right? It also takes a certain sense of responsibility. Even kids can enjoy playing with it.”
Some choose to turn their emotional support “pets” into tangy sourdough once the yeast has fermented strongly enough.
But sadly, not all yeast experiments go well, as one Chinese blogger cautioned: “A healthy starter should smell like fruit or alcohol. If it stinks or (starts to) show mold, it needs to be thrown away.”
On the popular Chinese shopping platform Taobao, “pet rocks” have become a hot craze.
A shop called XiaoxueG Design Inspirations Store, with nearly 900 followers, claims to have sold over 1,000 rocks.
“I don’t have to worry about (my rock) dying, getting sick or barking at my neighbours,” wrote one user. “It just listens.”
Others revel in the humour and absurdity, saying it’s just a fun and affordable way to express care and creativity at a time when real pets may be too costly or time-consuming.
“There’s something healing in being silly,” one Chinese social media user said. “It reminds me not to take life too seriously.”
“It’s weird. It’s wholesome, and it’s very human,” wrote another user on the Weibo microblogging site.
RELIEVING STRESS AND EMOTIONAL PRESSURE
These unconventional hobbies reflect the growing need for Chinese Gen Zers to cope with stress and emotional pressure from daily life, experts said.
“With urban life speeding up, many young people face mounting pressure and loneliness,” said Dr Qi Jing, Deputy Director of the Clinical Psychology Department at Hunan Second People’s Hospital.
“These static pets offer a kind of emotional outlet. They require little, but still create a sense of responsibility, connection and routine.”
Zhang Xin, an associate professor from Peking University’s School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, believes that these quirky trends point to a bigger picture.
“Any expression of emotion consumes psychological resources, and this expenditure is a cost to the individual,” he told 鶹ý.
“Caring also comes with physical and psychological costs.”
“What’s healing about this kind of relationship may lie in the fact that it requires neither emotional investment nor effort, so there’s no risk of getting hurt.”
Real or imaginary, Chinese millennials and Gen Zers continue to turn to pets over traditional family life.
According to a recent Goldman Sachs report, China’s pet population is set to nearly double the number of young children by 2030, as more young people delay or reject marriage and parenthood altogether.
By the end of the decade, the number of urban pets is expected to surpass 70 million, while children under age four will fall below 40 million.
This trend was on display at Pet Fair Asia last year, one of the region’s largest pet expos, held in Shanghai. Exhibitors filled all 17 permanent halls of the convention centre, with some even spilling into temporary spaces, to cater to growing demand from child-free couples and young professionals investing in “fur kids”.
“Our generation has little desire to have kids. And pets do provide companionship and fulfill part of the functions that kids perform,” said Liu Yinghui, a cat owner in her 30s who attended the fair with her husband.
“Rearing a cat is almost like raising a child.”
But for those unwilling or unable to make that commitment, a blob of yeast or a mango seed might just do the trick.
