For many around the world, including millions of children in China, the British TV series Teletubbies was a defining childhood memory. Twenty years later, the brightly colored characters are back—not on TV, but as oddly-shaped public benches in a Guangzhou amusement park.
Yes, you read that right. In the Colorful Amusement Park (七彩游乐园) in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, visitors are lining up not for its roller coaster rides, but to sit on Teletubbies-shaped benches. These oversized, somewhat distorted figures feature prolonged bellies, stiff outstretched arms, and frozen-in-death-shock expressions, making them look more like AI-generated dream core versions of Teletubbies than the cuddly originals. Let’s also not overlook the fact that they’re posed kinda like Regan going down the stairs in The Exorcist.
As with most things weird in this world that are discovered by today’s youth, Chinese netizens have quickly labeled these benches as a prime example of “abstract internet culture” (抽象文化)—a term used to describe things that are odd, freaky, and unintentionally hilarious. Many say the benches dip into the uncanny valley, offering a surreal blend of comfort and discomfort. Yet that hasn’t stopped people from flocking to them. Young visitors enjoy posing in playful or slumped postures, lying belly-down across the characters’ soft stomachs. Some say it’s a perfect metaphor for “躺平” (tang ping)—a youth lifestyle trend in China that embraces passivity, rest, and opting out of competitive hustle culture.
What began as a quirky design for children has become a hit among nostalgic millennials and Gen Z. Some fans have even gone so far as to purchase their own Teletubby benches to install at home—both physical or digital homes—turning their living rooms into ironic shrines to early-2000s childhoods.
The original designers of the Teletubbies bench probably never imagined their characters would evolve into icons of adult satire, rest culture, and internet abstraction. But here we are. So if you’re visiting Guangzhou and you’re feeling a little nostalgic, swing by and take a seat on your childhood friend. Just don’t be surprised if it feels more existential than you remember.
Cover image via Xiaohongshu.
