Since Peppa and her family first appeared on the China Central Television network in 2015, the cartoon has built up a huge fan base with shows viewed 45 billion times on video-on-demand platforms, including Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent.

The Sixth Tone website run by Shanghai United Media Group said Peppa mania has led to adults showing off their Peppa Pig merchandise and tattoos on social media platforms.

Chinese celebrities, including actresses Yang Mi and Yang Ying, have contributed to the craze by wearing T-shirts with the character emblazoned on them.

Temporary tattoos of Peppa have been hugely popular. Actor Li Chen showed off his temporary Peppa Pig tattoo, which he put on his forehead, in a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The post attracted more than 200,000 likes.

Some fans have been inked permanently. According to media reports, one person paid 10,000 yuan ($1,600) for a whole-back piece.

Meanwhile, an antique-style porcelain cup that bears a painting of Peppa riding a bike against the backdrop of a traditional Chinese landscape has gone viral online and many people have been asking where they can buy one. While the artist behind the one-off design ruled out large-scale production, someone has started selling a similar item on Taobao.

Watches and bracelets are also proving to be a huge hit.

The craze doesn’t look as if it is about to die down anytime soon; two theme parks are set to open in 2019, and a line of new toys will launch later this year.