Pop Mart at the source: Labubu, blind boxes and a whole theme park

If someone in your life has feelings about a sharp-toothed elf called Labubu, know this: the fever that emptied shelves worldwide has settled. Pop Mart multiplied production, resale prices came back to earth, and in China — the company’s home — standard Labubu lines are now genuinely buyable in stores. At Chinese prices: blind boxes run ¥59–79 here, meaningfully cheaper than the same box abroad.

Which makes China the right place to understand what Pop Mart actually is: not one viral toy, but a machine for turning artist-designed characters into collectible economies.

Where to buy

• Flagships: the multi-floor global flagship on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, plus new-generation flagship stores in Beijing’s Sanlitun and at Shanghai IFC — worth visiting as brand theater even if you buy nothing.
• Everywhere else: regular stores in most malls, and robo shops — Pop Mart vending machines in malls, metro stations and airports, perfect for a 10pm impulse box.
• POP LAND (Beijing): Pop Mart’s own theme park in Chaoyang Park — a compact, photogenic IP-land with rides, character zones and exclusive park merch. Day tickets ¥150 weekday / ¥180 weekend; international platforms sell them in English. A half-day visit for fans; skippable for the merely curious.

Beyond Labubu

The connoisseur move is knowing the other lines: Skullpanda, Molly (the original), Dimoo, Crybaby and fast-rising Twinkle Twinkle and Hirono all have dedicated followings and regular new series. Rarity works the same across lines: a "secret" (隐藏款) chase figure hides in roughly one box per case, which is the entire psychological engine of the format. China’s wider designer-toy world is worth a browse too — TOP TOY’s multi-brand "toy supermarkets" and 52TOYS stores sit in many of the same malls.

The fake problem ("Lafufu")

Counterfeits are an industry of their own. The safe path: buy only from official stores and robo shops. If a piece comes from anywhere else, check the anti-counterfeit QR under the tamper-evident sticker and scan it inside the official Pop Mart app (a scan that bounces you to a random webpage is a red flag), and inspect build quality — on Labubu specifically, the classic tell is the teeth: nine of them, well molded.

Hunting with local intel

New series drop on schedules announced in Chinese channels, popular drops queue or sell through the mini-program, and store stock varies block to block. KORA plays local scout: current drop calendar, which flagship has stock of the line you want, POP LAND tickets bought, and a verdict on that suspiciously cheap "Labubu" before you pay for it.