Artist Florentijn Hofman's 54-ft.-tall inflatable rubber duck is pictured in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on May 2, 2013
An even bigger version of the yellow Rubber Duck that has made waves in cities worldwide – most recently in Hong Kong – has found a permanent home in Keelung, Taiwan, beginning in mid-December, the AFP reports.
(PHOTOS: Giant Rubber Duck Floats in Hong Kong Harbor)
The art installation – which will be about 5 feet taller than the 54-foot duck that was floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor – is still under construction, but it already has a Facebook fan page called “Rubber Duck Welcome to Keelung,” which boasts more than 700 messages from well-wishers. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman posted a photo of the inflatable artwork being sewn together on his Facebook page.
(MORE: Hong Kong’s Giant Rubber Duck Deflates)
The duck made such a splash in Hong Kong this Spring that Taiwanese travel agencies started organizing “yellow duck” trips to the city. Copycats started popping up around mainland China and sales of toy rubber ducks – and yellow cakes shaped like rubber ducks – soared. Crisis struck when the installation deflated for a week due to “maintenance problems,” morphing into what some called a floating “fried egg.” The oversized bath toy even stirred up controversy when a photoshopped version of the iconic 1989 image in Tiananmen Square substituted tanks with the rubber duck. Internet searches for “yellow duck” were subsequently blocked throughout mainland China
Since 2007, the duck has toured 13 cities in nine different countries across the globe – everywhere from Australia to Brazil.