Nailong: TikTok’s Favorite Chopped Charmander

Know Your Meme

Meet Nailong: a chubby, lovable milk dragon who went from Chinese mascot to Western meme star.    Check out our new MEME STORE: https://thememestore.com/  Subscribe to our channel to learn more about trending memes, hear interviews from meme personalities and more! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrPqq29C9Q_TQP7OFFRzcw?sub_confirmation=1  #meme #memes #memesvideos

Transcript

00:00Nylon fever has officially crossed the Pacific.

00:05The chubby yellow dragon often spotted lollygagging with his tongue out

00:08is now clogging up Western TikTok feeds in the form of sticker packs,

00:11dance edits, and Gucci bucket hat memes.

00:18In Indonesia, he's known as Dino Kuning,

00:20while some in the West refer to him as Chopped Charmander

00:23due to his resemblance to the well-known Pokemon.

00:25But what's the yellow dragon cartoon character's backstory?

00:27Here's a recap of one of China's biggest commercial IP exports since Neijia.

00:30Nylon, meaning milk dragon, is a plump, digitally animated dinosaur-like creature

00:34born from the Shenzhen-based company Seventh Impression Culture and Media.

00:37Conceptualized by Xi Jinping and designed by Liu Xing,

00:40he debuted on January 22, 2020 via short clips on Douyin, China's version of TikTok.

00:45Unlike mascots that emerge from storylines, Nylon was built the other way around.

00:48He started as a standalone character designed for short-form virality and merchandising,

00:52with later videos flushing out a role in which he goes on sci-fi escapades

00:55with a young human boy named Xiao Qi.

00:57By 2024, the character had been licensed for plush toys,

01:00theme park attractions, and branded partnerships across China and Southeast Asia.

01:03A prevalent Neem format features two Nylongs facing off against each other

01:06and declaring Woshin Nylon, or I am Nylon,

01:08with the video later being remixed into a popular dance trend in China.

01:14Despite his cherubic and childlike features,

01:16Chinese internet users have also found endless joy in tormenting Nylon.

01:19Daoyin clips, like this one posted on November 1st, 2024, by user XiaoxiaoGunYang,

01:24show different versions of Nylon being boiled alive or roughed up in various forms,

01:27garnering thousands or millions of views each.

01:30On August 1st, TikToker at Mayonnaisee uploaded a video explaining all these aspects

01:34of Nylon's Chinese origins, gathering 900,000 plays in under a week.

01:37Nylon began his Western takeover in late July 2025.

01:40On July 31st, TikToker at AngelBangleBagel posted a Nylon compilation

01:44that racked up over 3 million views and 600,000 likes in one week.

01:46By August 2nd, TikToker at its mihias shared a montage of Nylon sticker gifs

01:50that reached 9 million views and 2 million likes in just a few days.

01:54By early August, Nylon became a staple feature in the Gucci bucket hat meme,

01:57a trend in which characters in Instagram story screen recordings

01:59wear Gucci brand bucket hats and dance to the Pop Chanel X Future track of the same name.

02:04Nylon's virality in the West went parallel to the start of the meme in early August 2025.

02:09And before long, TikTokers like 210 underscore US3 were posting edits,

02:12putting Nylon in Gucci bucket hats and gathering over 900,000 plays in mere days.

02:16T

02:18en

02:21Nylon

02:21Y

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