HK Media’s Jiangsu Tour: Toy Innovation in Yangzhou - "AI + Original IP" Sparks a Competitive Advantage

The Hong Kong media delegation visited YangZhou An'best Toys Co., Ltd. on March 25. The corporation representative introduced the over 3,500 original copyrighted products of the corporation and mentioned that, influenced by the US tariff policies with pressure on 40% of its export business, the corporation is responding by simplifying production techniques and optimizing raw materials, while actively promoting its AI toy product lines and expanding its market layout in Hong Kong.

The corporation is responding by simplifying production techniques and optimizing raw materials, while actively promoting its AI toy product lines and expanding its market layout in Hong Kong. Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

OEM to Copyright Leader: A 30-Year Evolution

Founded in Yangzhou, An'best Toys started as an OEM manufacturer working from client-supplied designs. Ms. Shi Qiaoyan, the head of the corporation's HR Department, pointed out that since the pure OEM model is seeing its profit margins shrink with the declining demographic dividend, An'best has made a shift toward independent design and R&D, holding more than 3,500 copyrights and 19 authorized patents. "We increasingly realize the enormous benefits that respecting originality and design brings to the corporation," she said.

The toy product released by An'best, Photo by Bastille Post

As for now, the corporation operates 8 regular designer teams, while the chairman himself leads a separate team responsible for key projects' design, which puts the total design personnel of An'best headcount among the highest in the industry.

The toy product released by An'best, Photo by Bastille Post

Design Talents Grown from University's Micro Major

To strengthen the corporation's design talent pool,  An'best has partnered with Yangzhou University to offer a micro major in plush toy design. Under the program, students can take part in hands-on design work during their senior year, with some receiving direct job offers upon graduation.

The toy product of An'best, Photo by Bastille Post

Ms. Shi explained that beyond local university partnerships, An'best also actively recruits from cities known for their strong design talent, such as Hangzhou. "Designers are currently in high demand for us," she said.

US Export Business Hit by Tariffs, Orders Stranded in Warehouses

Affected by U.S. tariff policy imposed in April 2025, An'best is facing significant pressure on its exports to the U.S., which account for approximately 35% to 40% of its total business. Ms. Shi said that the corporation has adopted three countermeasures in response: simplifying production techniques, sourcing more cost-effective alternative raw materials, and making appropriate price adjustments on large orders at customer request. "We are striving to retain continued orders from customers with a smaller profit margin," she said.

Ms. Shi Qiaoyan, the head of An'best's HR Department, Photo by Bastille Post

AI Toys Coming, but Sewing Stays Manual

Ms. Shi revealed that the corporation is collaborating with partners to develop a series of plush toys with built-in AI interactive functions, tailored to different age groups. "The development momentum is very strong right now," she said, adding that specific products will be launched soon.

She acknowledged the current limitations of AI-generated images in the design process, making the design drawing often technically difficult to realize in production. "The AI-generated images can represent an aesthetic preference, but they still cannot be used as the main design drawing for cultural and creative products," she said.

The sewing process for plush toys still relies mainly on skilled manual workers. Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

When it comes to manufacturing, the sewing process for plush toys still relies mainly on skilled manual workers. Moreover, An'best is also collaborating with Soochow University to develop new nano-antibacterial materials, which have already been applied to some plush toy products. Upon launch, these toys were marketed as "dolls with antibacterial functions," whose market response has been positive.

Photo by Bastille Post

Steady Toy Fair Attendance, Loyal Hong Kong Customers

Ms. Shi stated that the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair is an international platform that An'best yearly attends. Moreover, the corporation has already established a fixed customer base in Hong Kong. She pointed out that Hong Kong plays an important role in promoting Chinese cultural and creative IPs to the international market.

The sewing process for plush toys still relies mainly on skilled manual workers. Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

"I believe that more and more Hong Kong people will get to know An'best," she said, adding that the corporation also plans to use Hong Kong as a springboard to further expand overseas IP licensing cooperation.

The toy products of An'best, Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

Photo by Bastille Post

YangZhou An'best Toys Co., Ltd. Photo by Bastille Post

NEW YORK (AP) — It's not just a squishy noisemaker. The rubber duck is an American invention with a deep and rich past.

The cute, often yellow toys have seen a resurgence in recent years, especially in tourist shops from the U.S. Open to Buckingham Palace, and are beloved across the world.

The duck’s origin story was forged in fire, according to popular lore. Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanized rubber, is said to have shaped leftover rubber into a duck as a chew toy for dogs and a teething aid for babies. (This heritage lives on in one Ohio minor-league baseball team — the Akron RubberDucks.)

Vulcanization made the rubber waterproof and mostly indestructible, but also heavy. It wasn’t until 1931 that Elenore Shannahan revised the design so it would float and become part of bathtime fun. The patent states her toy could “produce a fountain-like effect, and enable the playing of pranks by one person on another by the squirting of a fine stream of spray upon the face or other parts of a person.”

The Walt Disney Co. and Seiberling Latex Products created a floating Donald Duck water toy in 1938, which helped the rubber duck become popular around the globe. The vinyl duck known today traces to sculptor Peter Ganine’s 1947 design, according to St. Neots Museum.

When the rubber duck was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, the museum said its “bright color, smooth texture, and (for some) squeaky or quacky sounds sharpen toddlers’ senses,” solidifying its usefulness around the house.

The bath toy also inspired a Billboard hit. “Rubber Duckie” peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100 in the magazine’s Sept. 26, 1970, issue. The song earned the first Grammy nomination for Jim Henson, the voice of Ernie on “Sesame Street,” according to the Grammy Awards website.

In 1992, a spill of 29,000 plastic bath toys, including rubber ducks, into the North Pacific Ocean created both a mess and a large scientific experiment, Allison Boyle of the Science Museum in London said on its website. Oceanographers Curtis Ebbesmeyer and James Ingraham used reports from beachcombers to track the toys around the world, not only to follow the plastic debris but also to “refine their models of ocean surface currents.”

“Even the cutest of children’s toys plays a role in ocean health,” said Rachel Schoeler, manager of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup website.

From chew toy to bath toy, Billboard hit to oceanographic tool, the rubber duck has made waves across American history.

Part of a recurring series, “American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more American objects, click here. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

A rubber duck wearing a gold chain necklace and sunglasses is surrounded by smaller ducks in Phoenix, AZ, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

A rubber duck wearing a gold chain necklace is surrounded by smaller ducks in Phoenix, AZ, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

FILE - A small rubber duck sits in the end zone after being thrown from the stands during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Washington and Oregon, in Seattle, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

FILE - Rubber ducks float in the current of the Chicago River during the Sixth Annual Greater Chicago Duck Race in Illinois, Sept, 8, 1995. (AP Photo/Beth A.Keiser, File)

A rubber duck wearing a gold chain necklace is surrounded by smaller ducks in Phoenix, AZ, Thursday Oct. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)