BEIJING, July 20 — This summer, an unlikely vegetable has taken over Chinese social media — not as food, but as a “cooling companion” for cats. Across Xiaohongshu (Red Note), videos and photos of felines lounging, napping, and even “riding” on large green winter melons (冬瓜) have gone wildly viral. The humble winter melon, once destined for soup and stir-fries, has been reborn as the ultimate pet cooling gadget — and the trend shows no signs of cooling down.
So why a winter melon? It turns out there’s real logic behind the craze. Winter melons have the highest water content of any melon — nearly 95 per cent. Water has a high specific heat capacity, meaning the melon stays cool for extended periods. The skin temperature of a winter melon is typically 3 to 5 degrees Celsius lower than room temperature, making it feel like a natural “cold water pack” against the skin. When a cat curls up against one, the vegetable gently draws heat away from the body — a simple, chemical-free form of physical cooling.
The trend actually has roots in traditional Chinese folk wisdom. An old saying goes, “心头热，揽冬瓜” — when your heart feels hot, hug a winter melon. What was once grandparent-era advice has now been rediscovered by a new generation.
The trend exploded when netizens discovered that clean winter melons feel cool and smooth to the touch, and cats naturally gravitate toward them. On Xiaohongshu, posts about “sleeping while hugging a winter melon” have attracted massive attention. One blogger’s video of carrying a 28-pound winter melon from Shenzhen to Hong Kong for his daughter’s “physical cooling” garnered over 100,000 likes. The hashtag #抱冬瓜睡觉 (sleeping while hugging a winter melon) has trended on multiple platforms, with related posts on Xiaohongshu exceeding 5.2 million.
Countless videos have been flooding the platform, showing cats blissfully sprawled across green gourds. Pet owners have jokingly declared that “this summer, every cat must ride on a winter melon”.
Where social media leads, commerce follows. Fresh produce platforms have scrambled to capitalize on the trend. Hema (盒马) introduced specially packaged mini winter melons marketed as pet cooling pillows, with slogans like “natural cooling ‘pillow’ — cats won’t let go”. Since swapping in cat-themed imagery, Hema’s mini winter melon sales jumped 77 percent, while overall winter melon sales rose 35 percent. Dingdong Maicai saw a 59 per cent sales surge for its pet-themed mini winter melons. Other platforms like Seven Fresh and Xiaoxiang Supermarket quickly followed suit.
The vegetable, which months ago faced oversupply and rock-bottom prices, has now become a “top star in the cat world”. One commenter on Xiaohongshu summed it up perfectly: “Last year I spent big money on pet cooling mats that my cat ignored. A winter melon costs almost nothing — if she likes it, great; if not, I’ll just cook it for dinner”.
Of course, no viral trend is complete without a dose of humour. Many pet owners quickly discovered that mini winter melons — around 500 grams to 1 kilogram — are comically small compared to their adult cats. Social media filled with jokes: “It’s not the seller’s fault — I bought a cat that’s too big” and “Cats need a ‘thunder giant melon’ instead”. Hema even updated its product photos after customer feedback, swapping out images of large cats hugging big melons for more realistic proportions.
This trend is about more than cats and vegetables. It reflects a broader cultural shift toward “low-cost healing” — small, affordable pleasures that deliver high emotional returns. As one analysis put it, this isn’t about spending less money; it’s about spending differently. Young consumers are moving from “price-performance ratio” to “heart-performance ratio” — measuring value not by cost alone, but by how much joy and comfort something brings.
For pet owners facing record summer heat, the winter melon offers something priceless: peace of mind. Should they leave the AC on all day? Will the fan make their pet sick? Will expensive cooling mats get chewed up? A winter melon costs less than a cup of coffee, uses no electricity, and — best of all — if your cat ignores it, you can always turn it into soup.
From Shanghai Zoo tigers to living room cats across China, the winter melon has become the summer symbol no one expected. It’s silly, it’s simple, and it works. In a world of smart gadgets and expensive pet tech, sometimes the best solutions are the ones your grandmother could have told you about — and that a cat will actually use.
