Cats and dogs are making way for squirrels, raccoons and even capybaras. Zhang Yangfei reports.

Beijing residents who love unusual stores, chic brands, upscale bistros and sophisticated bars are no strangers to the Sanlitun area in the east of the city. Recently, though, the trendy district has provided another reason for people－mainly animal lovers－to visit frequently.

Li Li, 31, frequents a small cafe in Sanlitun's SOHO building at least once a week. The cafe, Takara, is also a pet store where customers can spend time patting and cuddling fluffy animals while having a drink.

However, unlike many other pet cafes that house cats or dogs, Takara is home to squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, hedgehogs and a capybara, the world's largest rodent.

To Li and many other city dwellers, these animal-themed cafes serve as a haven to release stress, while also meeting their emotional needs for pets and their desire to seek novelty.

In fact, such places have been springing up across the city and the country so quickly recently that the novel coronavirus outbreak has not damaged the trend's progress.

Quirky cafes

In addition to Takara, Sanlitun has a cafe that offers animals such as call ducks－a domesticated species often raised as a pet－piglets, hairless cats and a sheep.

In Beijing, Pigs in the Palm, a cafe-cum-shop, is themed with little porcines, while Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, has outlets featuring marmots and alpacas as customer companions.

Li, an enterprise training specialist in Beijing, met her first capybara at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan during a trip to Japan a few years ago. She immediately fell in love with the animal.

When her boyfriend told her that a cafe was opening in Beijing where people would be able to pat a capybara, Li said she was ecstatic.

"The capybara became my favorite animal as soon as I saw one. It seemed like a nice old guy who never offends anyone. They always seem totally unperturbed and have a particular aura of detachment from all worldly affairs," she said, adding that getting close to a capybara is very "stress relieving".

Zhao Meng, Takara's founder, said capybaras are very popular in Japan because the animal's character fits with today's youth culture, being indoorsy, chilled and "Buddhist"－popular modern Chinese slang for a person who is intensely relaxed and allows events to happen in their own time.

Zhao is an animal lover. After learning about capybaras in Japan, he wanted to raise one himself, but his family didn't really like the idea of having a giant rodent at home.

Instead, he decided to open a store so the animal would have enough space to wander around. In the wild, capybaras usually live near water, so the store has a bathtub to pander to the animal's semi-aquatic habits.

Initially, Zhao wanted to mainly sell regular pets like cats and dogs, but the presence of the capybara, which he named Tata, quickly attracted large numbers of customers and brought more fame.

Some people living in neighboring cities even make special visits just to spend time with Tata.

As a regular visitor to zoos, Li said cafes such as Takara offer a different experience, which she called "a process of finding emotional bonding in the concrete and steel jungle of the city".

"Actually there are a lot of pet cafes around. But what truly matters are the relations between people and people and people and animals that can make you feel relaxed, like staying with a good friend," she said.

Since the beginning of the year, cafes themed with a variety of animals have become a new sensation in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

For example, call ducks are among the most popular attractions. Key opinion leaders and social media influencers have scrambled to pet cafes to post selfies with call ducks, encouraging more people to visit.

Call ducks are smaller than other breeds and have a pure white plumage, a short bill, a little round head and a very chubby body.

In reviews, netizens have commented that one of the main reasons to recommend such cafes is the stress-relieving and relaxing experience of patting this cute fluffy bird.

Dianping, China's most popular review and rating platform, rates Lucky Ducky, a call duck-themed cafe and retailer in Beijing, as the top pet store to visit in the capital.

Although scheduled to open in January, its debut was postponed until April as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Despite the virus, people's enthusiasm and curiosity do not seem to have been dampened.

Even in June, when several new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in Beijing, Lucky Ducky was still packed every day.

The interior is pink, with cloud-shaped pendant lights on the ceiling and posters and pictures of duck emojis hanging on the walls.

On the day China Daily visited, most of the customers were young, and some were holding ducks on their laps. Many repeatedly took photos with their smartphones.

"I love the ducks very much. They are very chubby and feel so good to touch. The feathers on their breasts in particular are so fluffy and smooth," said a customer surnamed Wu.

Tian Xuhui, Lucky Ducky's owner, said one of the reasons his store-cum-cafe has become so popular is the fast pace of life in big cities, which drives many people to look for places to release the pressure.

"They love animals. They are curious about these unusual pets and want to raise one at home, but circumstances don't allow it so they come to interact with them," he said.

Going viral

Unusual pets first went viral on social media and earned millions of followers. On video-sharing platform Douyin, the hashtag#call duck has nearly 1 billion views. One user called MiYa has documented his pet duck's life in short videos since it hatched. The videos have attracted more than 62,000 followers.

On instant-messaging platforms, some of the most popular emojis feature call ducks, piglets and shiba inu and husky dogs.

The animals capture people's hearts by appearing dumb and clumsy. For many people, watching animal-related videos is a way of relaxing, and the emergence of pet cafes helps realize their fantasies of closely interacting with animals they see so often on digital devices.

"I have watched so many emoticons and videos featuring little piglets. They just look so cute and fluffy," said Liu Wan, a Beijing resident who works in finance.

The 24-year-old said that until recently she had not had a close encounter with a pig, but she had been moved by some gifs－computer files used for sending images, especially moving ones, on the internet－of piglets. One day, she happened to watch a reality show in which the celebrities went to a piglet-themed cafe, and rushed to go herself.

"The piglets were bigger than I expected. Their bodies were really warm but their snouts were cool, and they lay on my lap very submissively," she said.

She added that she thought about buying one, but she knew her parents wouldn't approve. "I know I can't raise one at home so I rely on pet cafes to meet my needs. It requires lots of time and effort to take care of an animal and I also need to consider my family members' feelings," she said.

Self-employed Xiao Ou is a frequent visitor to Takara. The 30-year-old spotted the raccoons when she was passing one day and was immediately attracted, because Chinese people have heard so much about this North American species but have rarely seen one.

Xiao called for more pet cafes to open in Beijing. "There are so many people who want to have a pet but are unable to do so. The cafes suit the needs and wishes of this group," she said.

"In this place, you can get close to the cute little ones in a very comfortable way without having to worry about safety and hygiene－overall, it is an extremely comfortable experience."

Animal lovers say the pet stores and cafes have a secondary function, as they may change people's attitudes toward pets.

"These animals are actually not rare. But they have been served as food for so many years that people hardly see them as pets," Tian said, referring to the ducks, pigs and sheep in his store.

Rapid expansion

China's pet market has expanded rapidly in recent years. Although cats and dogs still dominate, many people have started to choose ducks, rodents or domesticated animals as pets.

Their attitude toward pets has also shifted from seeing them as playthings to regarding them as family members or close friends.

"Whether at home or in stores, these little animals are there for companionship and they bring warmth to our hearts. They care and understand just like family members. They give us much more than the love we give to them," Xiao said.

Beijing resident Zhao Meng (no relation to Takara's founder) is an animal enthusiast. Even though she has three rabbits and a guinea pig at home, she still frequents places like Takara and Lucky Ducky just to play with the animals.

The 27-year-old graphic designer also draws pictures to record her daily life with her "children".

Her latest rabbit was bought from Lucky Ducky after she played with it in the store.

"I never see them as animals or pets per se. They all have their own temperaments and personalities. They understand what you are saying. Although they can't speak, you can really communicate with them and they will give you a reaction," she said.

Takara founder Zhao Meng said one of his initial intentions in opening the store was to help people learn more about animals before they buy them and take them home, because many people buy pets on impulse.

"They say 'Oh, this pet is so cute' and then buy it without knowing its habits or personality or if they are allergic to it. So I opened my store to let customers experience the animals first. They can play with all the animals here to see if there's any problem. If it is okay, they can consider purchasing one," he said.

He added that Takara represents the fourth generation of pet shops. The first three generations are: pet shops that only sell pets and related products and services; cat-or dog-themed cafes and restaurants, with food and drink being the main service; and stores with one species intended merely for cosseting.

"We are trying to refine pet sales and pet experiences to help customers better understand what they like and turn impulse buying into rational consumption," he said.

"I think pets are the only family members you pay to have, so I hope people will be more cautious in the future."