Chinese-style wrapper a social media star in West

The wrapper of a six-decade-old Chinese milk candy has become an unlikely social media sensation in the West, with experts saying its popularity reflects growing global fascination with Chinese aesthetics untouched by Western design.

White Rabbit, a household name in China since its launch in 1959, was born in an era of material scarcity, when sweets were a rare luxury. Although the times have improved, its packaging has remained virtually unchanged.

The wrapper, featuring a seated white rabbit against a red background and framed by blue-and-white rabbit motifs, which won a national packaging award in 1983, is now drawing millions of views overseas.

A post made on social media platform X on Wednesday, describing the wrapper as a "masterstroke of graphic design", has garnered about 6 million views and 260,000 likes since. The comments section has been flooded with user creations — tattoos, T-shirts, digital collages and phone cases, all featuring the iconic white rabbit.

The trend has also spread to more platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, reviving interest in other vintage Chinese packaging.

The author of the post, weeabob, who joined Twitter — the former name of X — in 2009 and has more than 13,000 followers, wrote on Thursday, "I'm fine with my most liked tweet being about this wonderful Chinese candy I guess."

Zhang Di, a professor at Renmin University of China, who studies cross-cultural content diffusion, attributed the wrapper's immense appeal to its visual language — bold primary colors, a simple composition and animal motifs — which he said requires no specific cultural knowledge for interpretation and is aesthetically accessible across cultures.

Zhang also cited algorithmic recommendations as a key driver, noting that social media platforms have pushed content from Chinese diaspora communities to broader audiences. "That has given a product design rooted in a particular community's memory attention far beyond its original boundaries," he said.

Shi Anbin, a Tsinghua University professor, who studies China's cultural influence abroad, linked the craze to what he described as a broader #BecomingChinese or #Chinamaxxing movement on social media, in which young people overseas have embraced traditional Chinese practices ranging from drinking hot water to wearing casual sandals.

Wu Weihua, a professor at the Communication University of China specializing in digital media and youth culture, said the wrapper going viral reflects Generation Z's growing appreciation for Chinese aesthetics. He added that vintage designs with cultural depth can strike an emotional chord in an era dominated by artificial intelligence-generated content.

White Rabbit's popularity overseas is not without precedent.

In 1972, during then United States president Richard Nixon's visit to China, the candy attracted the attention of US visitors. Shanghai manufacturers later exported it for Easter celebrations in the US, where it became a novelty at the time.

Shi, from Tsinghua University, noted that the wrapper has changed little over the past six decades, and yet, it continues to resonate with the masses. This staying power, he argued, suggests that original Chinese designs — free of Western stylistic influence — can bridge both generational and cultural divides.

Foreign audiences are accustomed to US or European packaging, but White Rabbit's aesthetics, by contrast, stands apart as something distinctly its own, he said.

Shi contended that heritage brands are better served by preserving their originality. He pointed to Beijing's Arctic Ocean soda, which faltered after a joint venture with PepsiCo in the 1990s sidelined the brand, but rebounded after returning to its vintage glass-bottle packaging in 2011.

Rather than seeking novelty, such companies should remain true to their classic designs and let authenticity drive their appeal, Shi added. Zhang, from Renmin University of China, struck a more pragmatic note. He said that short-term online buzz does not guarantee lasting market recognition and that product fundamentals — taste, quality, convenience and adaptability — are what ultimately retain customers. He advised heritage brands to use any current attention to study target markets and, accordingly, adjust their offerings.

Guo Yuhe contributed to this story.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn