The Apple Watch isn’t on store shelves yet and the iPhone 7 doesn’t even exist yet, but Taiwanese and Chinese who have already passed on will be able to receive them as gifts from their living loved ones. The industry which sells items to given as religious offerings is making paper versions of the Apple Watch and the iPhone 7 for Tomb Sweeping Day, or Qingming.
Apple products made of paper
Tomb Sweeping Day is a day dedicated to remembering ancestors. The Chinese bring paper offerings to the graves of their ancestors and burn them so that loved ones who have passed on will receive them in the afterlife. Today just about anything can be purchased for the event, as businesses create everything from Apple products to luxury vehicles and miniature houses, all made from paper.
Want China Times reports that this year businesses are looking to capitalize on Apple’s popularity by creating paper versions of the Apple Watch, which hits store shelves in April. We’re probably still more than a year away from finding out what Apple has in store for the iPhone 7, but the website reports that some businesses are even manufacturing paper replicas of the future smartphone.
Tomb Sweeping Day offerings incredibly lifelike
The creators of these products are extremely thorough in offering true-to-life versions of the iPhone 7 complete with a charger, headphones and USB cable. The paper iPhone 7 sells for $6.40 (NT$200).
In addition to Apple products and other electronics, in Hong Kong, businesses that make paper offerings are creating paper versions of popular foods like McDonald’s meals, rice puddings and vegetarian dishes. In China’s Guangdong province, some paper offering vendors are even manufacturing paper credit cards, female dolls or “partners,” and even condoms.
In Taiwan, offerings businesses focus on handmade items that are so realistic they can sometimes take up to three days to make. They’re also a lot more expensive than other items. Some Taiwanese are willing to shell out $1,180 (NT$37,000) for a paper Porsche. Another paper item that’s being sold is an 18-hole golf course, which is priced at $1,280 (NT$40,000).
Unfortunately for some businesses that make paper offerings, creating items that look too authentic can be costly. Luxury brand Louis Vuitton reportedly sued one Hong Kong paper offering manufacturer for alleged copyright infringement.
