Challenging Asia’s Largest: 18-Meter-Tall Rubber Duck Enters Sewing Phase

Reported by You Tzu-ju / Comprehensive Report

The globally adored and heartwarming Rubber Duck will make its way to Kaohsiung’s Glory Pier on September 19. To ensure the quality of the duck’s production, Kaohsiung City Government Information Bureau Director Lai Jui-long personally visited the manufacturer......to ensure the quality of the duck’s production, aiming to create the largest, heaviest, and sturdiest duck structure in Asia.


▲ A 1:10 scale model of the Rubber Duck. (Photo / Provided by Kaohsiung City Government)

The Rubber Duck to be displayed at Kaohsiung’s Glory Pier stands 18 meters tall and 25 meters wide, making it currently the largest in Asia and the second largest in the world. Artist Florentijn Hofman stated: “Kaohsiung has a uniquely advantageous harbor environment with stable tides in the inner port, which is why we specifically chose an 18-meter height for this duck to share its immense charm with all people in Taiwan.”

The creation of this massive yellow duck is highly intricate and complex. Artist Florentijn Hofman places great emphasis on the production process. After arriving in Taiwan in early August, he held intensive meetings with the exhibition planning team to discuss the production steps, imparting expertise on every aspect of the process — including the material of the duck’s “skin,” strength, sewing methods, mechanics, wind resistance, inflation technology, loading/unloading, transportation, and maintenance. He hopes the team can fully take over and successfully complete the exhibition mission.

Artist Florentijn Hofman said: “Aside from France, where a 26-meter duck was once displayed, the world has never attempted such a gigantic size before.” Each Rubber Duck is manufactured by the local city’s exhibition team, allowing the community to develop a unique, localized emotional connection with the duck through the making process.


▲ Taiwan will showcase the largest Rubber Duck in Asia by size. (Photo / Provided by Kaohsiung City Government)

The 18-meter-tall Rubber Duck requires over 1,000 kilograms of fabric alone. The artist’s design includes more than 100 individual duck pieces. The manufacturing contractor first creates a model using a 60:1 paper pattern, then assembles a 1:10 scale test version using actual materials. Once confirmed to be correct, full-scale sewing begins. The fabric dimensions are highly specialized and had to be custom ordered from factories. Among the over 100 fabric pieces, the longest single piece measures approximately 13 meters. After sewing, further steps such as assembly, testing, inflation, and contingency preparation are carried out to ensure the duck is sturdy and reliable enough to withstand Kaohsiung’s weather conditions, including wind, rain, and tides, so that it can be successfully displayed before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Both the exhibition planning team and the manufacturing contractor are working at full capacity, laboring day and night. The Rubber Duck has now entered the sewing phase, and the team plans to conduct land and sea tests near Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Art Center in mid-September.