Hong Kong’s “Rubber Duck” Drowned in Crowd; Li Fangyu Shares Photography Tips

Reporter Zhu t?幔?ū北ǖ技/p>

The bathtub-soaking celebrity toy “Rubber Duck” is practically a household name. On May 2, it officially “swam” into Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. Renowned travel show host Li Fangyu planned a three-day free-and-easy trip to Hong Kong and purposely set aside the last day just to see the duck “in person”! But she didn’t expect the duck’s fame to be so overwhelming — Li said just to see the exhibition, you’d have to queue for over two hours, and getting a photo with the duck requires sharp eyes and good positioning. Is it really that tiring?

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The “Rubber Duck Project” features a giant yellow duck designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. Starting from the Netherlands, it has floated through places like France, São Paulo, and Osaka. The “Yellow Duck” made its way into Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, where the Harbour City hosted a 16.5-meter-tall giant “rubber duck” art exhibition and a “rubber duck” photo exhibition. Li Fangyu said, “I came because of its fame. Early on the third day, right after getting ready, I headed to the duck exhibition. But there were too many people — I was practically squeezed outside the exhibition area. When I asked, I was told I’d have to wait two hours, so I immediately turned around and gave up. I heard that 300,000 people came on Sunday alone!”

“I think Hong Kong people are amazing at queuing — they’re not only patient but also very orderly, almost like the queues in Japan.” After giving up on queuing for the exhibition, Li Fangyu headed to another area to take photos with the duck in the square. But even taking a photo required stamina. “There were tons of people too ! Not only do you have to find a good spot, but you also have to snap your camera quickly, or you’ll feel like other people waiting to take photos might yell at you.”

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If you want to take a photo with the “Rubber Duck” that came into port, you’ll also need to queue. However, Li Fangyu revealed a little tip — as long as you’re quick and sharp-eyed, you’re sure to get the shot: “There were just too many people, and I really couldn’t be bothered to queue. But I found that if you take the escalator, you’ll definitely pass by the Yellow Duck. Just time it right and snap your shutter quickly. If you don’t get the shot, just take the escalator again and try a few more times — that way, you don’t have to stand in a long, long line!”