Photo courtesy to ThePaper

“How did you do it? That’s awesome, can you teach me?” “Me too!” A small group of people who made a circle around a claw machine said. Chen Xi, surrounded by those curious people, smiled with satisfaction.

Her big backpack was full of various dolls and a larger bag beside her had already been filled, the pile of dolls almost reached her head.

Photo courtesy to ThePaper

After Chen got the last doll dropped from the claw machine, she gave away several dolls to the kids who had been staring at her for the past half an hour and walked out of the gaming hall with two big bags full of dolls, leaving behind the hall manager who sighed at the several empty claw machines.

That was not a single lucky day for Chen. It is her everyday experience with claw machines.

Photo courtesy to ThePaper

“I’m called the ‘claw machine predator’ by my friends and followers on the Internet. I can empty almost every one of them if I want. I filled my apartment with more than 10,000 dolls last year and now I have no room for new ones, so I’m preparing to open an online shop for selling the dolls,” Chen said with a tone mixed with confidence and shyness.

Chen, who lives in southwest China’s Chengdu, Sichuan province, is an online celebrity for her master claw machine skills and she teaches over 3,000 followers how to grab dolls from claw machines. She used to be a performer of Chinese tea art before finding her passion for claw machines three years ago, ThePaper reported.

Photo courtesy to ThePaper

“Grabbing dolls from claw machines requires technique and patience, and it has taught me how to be more concentrated and determined. The lovely fluffy dolls serve as small comfort in people’s busy lives, so I share tips for people to grab more happiness from claw machines,” Chen told ThePaper.