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THE Monkey King's famous jindou yun or somersault cloud allows him to flip over and magically traverse 108,000 li in a rush of freedom and happiness. Jindou 108000 designs and sells "joyful" products, writes Pan Xiaoyi
To be a Jindou 108000 employee, the only requirement is "be joyful." This may not seem like sound personnel policy, but when you're turning out "happy" accessories, worker mindset is important.
"Only when you are happy yourself can you make pleasant designs," says Elle Sun, manager of Jindou 108000, a design store and sales outlet. "Smiling is the best way to communicate and what we try to do is bringing happiness."
The name "Jindou 108000" comes from the literary classic "Journey to the West," involving the Monkey King and monk Xuan Zang's pilgrimage to India to bring back Buddhist scriptures.
The famous jindou yun is the somersault cloud on which the Monkey King can turn a somersault and arrive 108,000 li (54,000 kilometers) away. For Sun, the word expresses the desire for freedom and pure happiness.
She says customers are not just shopping for pleasing accessories - "they are trying to find purity, freedom and happiness." By spending.
There are head-nodding couples, large colorful calculators, a handkerchief box shaped like an ugly man's head. Tissues are pulled out of his mouth. There's a mini drinking machine - water spouts from a little boy who is urinating. Charming.
Price ranges from 100 (US$14.30) to 500 yuan. It seems somewhat extravagant, but how can you set a price on happiness?
Original Jindou T-shirts all feature Fefe, a little girl dressed in black who can ride jindou yun. "Fefe" literally means flying; she is meant to be a forever-young philosopher, free spirit and lover of art, music and fashion.
Sun says every child dreams of being Peter Pan and never growing old, but reality fails them. Actually, there is no need to be a child forever to break through restraints. Find sometime, somewhere and something to bring back carefree childhood, such as Jindou.
"There is a sleeping child in everyone's heart. The child inside doesn't want to grow up and be restricted by principles or dogmas," says Sun. The world is more tolerant of children than adults, they are allowed to make mistakes and break the rules. "It is the children who have the truly free minds," Sun says.
The work area is decorated in a classroom-style. Shop assistants work at school desks. The room is lined by school-type lockers; a blackboard makes a notice board.
Address: Rm 102, Bldg 4, 115 Fuxing Rd M.
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