Data from the 2014 China Adult Products Market Research Report shows that over 75% of people have used or are willing to try adult products. Online shopping is their top choice, accounting for 43%. More than 65% of respondents can accept adult products as gifts, among whom over 23% have the experience of giving such gifts.

Reporters learned from data on Taobao that the online sales volume of adult products increases by 50% annually, and the number of online buyers is estimated to reach 30 million in 2015. Young and middle-aged adults, especially males, form the main consumer group. Specifically, buyers aged 18 – 29 account for 65%, and those aged 30 – 39 make up 26%. In other words, buyers under 40 account for over 90% of the total consumption of adult products.

Some people have built businesses around them; some dote on them like their “daughters”, going shopping, dining, watching movies and getting manicures together.

These are the stories between them and inflatable dolls.

An inflatable doll is a kind of realistic adult product. Against the backdrop of gender imbalance, the inflatable doll market has become extremely booming. Driven by market demand and technological advancements, inflatable dolls have been continuously upgraded. High-end inflatable dolls, apart from their skeletons, are entirely made of silicone, featuring softness and elasticity, with skin texture similar to that of real young women.

In fact, in these lonely cities, each inflatable doll is more or less associated with a unique story. For some people, the doll may be their only companion. They may harbor unspeakable secrets, or endure the agony of sleeping alone due to long-distance separation.

Near Dashadi Metro Station in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, there is a specialty store selling high-end silicone realistic dolls. From the outside, the store is decorated in an elegant and high-grade style. The dolls in the store have skin as elastic as real humans, with joints and skeletons that allow them to make various movements, achieving an extremely high degree of realism. Their prices range from 10,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan, and some are equipped with additional functions such as heating and voice – emitting.

Reporters learned that the store owner is Liu Qianghua, a post – 80s young man from Leiyang, Hunan Province. This high-end doll physical store marks his first entrepreneurial attempt. When talking about why he entered this market, Liu Qianghua said, “The idea of selling silicone realistic dolls came to me during a chat with a friend about adult dolls. At that moment, it suddenly dawned on me that this was a promising business. Later, I visited various adult product markets to gather information. Through my research, I found that Japanese realistic physical dolls are excellent—extremely lifelike, in full proportion to real humans, and even have heating functions to maintain body temperature, with exquisite craftsmanship.”

Liu Qianghua has a lot to say about physical dolls: “Unlike low-cost inflatable dolls, silicone realistic dolls come with a high price tag. This is because they involve complex production processes, high raw material costs and long manufacturing cycles. Generally, domestic silicone realistic dolls are priced between 10,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan, while imported ones range from 60,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan.”