The 2026 Halloween Costume Guide (Chinese Memes Version)

Yellow creatures

Yellow is the new black this Halloween, with the rise of a group of viral “yellow creatures”: the yellow kangaroo mascot of the delivery platform Meituan; Naiwa, an AI-generated image gone wrong; and Niu Lai, the little yellow ox from the grassroots summer-hit animation of the same name.

Dubbed the “Three Yellow Giants,” the group has been spotted across social media platforms in the past few months, dancing, posing against different backdrops, appearing as co-workers, or even sworn brothers in AI-generated short videos. Sharing no connection, these characters are brought together by netizens for no apparent reason other than that they are yellow. Among them, Naiwa, literally “milk frog,” has the most bizarre origin. In 2024, a netizen attempted to generate “Nailoong,” or the Milk Dragon, from a popular Chinese kids’ cartoon series of the same name. Instead of a cute yellow dragon with round cheeks and a short tail, the result was a deformed yellow creature with frog-like features, large green eyes, a straight-line mouth, and slender limbs. The image has since become a staple of Chinese internet memes, commonly used to express absurdity, with netizens churning out endless new variations.

Niu Lai, on the other hand, is being celebrated for being completely “handmade” in the AI age. Reportedly made over five years by a mother-son duo using their home computers, the film soon went viral for its clumsy animation and storytelling. Many viewers were curious enough to go see it for themselves, while others simply wanted to join the pop culture frenzy, helping the film rake in a staggering 60 million yuan at the box office.

The auntie universe

Xue Zhenzhu might be China’s most famous auntie of 2026. A character from the 2017 TV series The First Half of My Life, Xue (played by Xu Di) went unexpectedly viral again earlier this year for a scene in which she confronts Ling Ling, the other woman in her daughter’s marriage. Xue, rocking her signature perm and red lipstick in a green cardigan over a red top, storms into Ling’s workplace, calls her out by name, and gets the whole office watching and gossiping.

When the show first aired, many found Xue annoying and tacky. But looking back now, netizens are starting to understand her. Many young people are tired of always having to be the bigger person and bottle up their feelings. Xue represents the opposite: say how you feel, call people out in the moment, and stop letting everything slide.

More people start dissecting the scene frame by frame and mimicking it line by line, with some even reenacting it in regional dialects. Many alternate-universe versions of Xue have also emerged. AI-generated remixes place her in various settings, from K-drama and Star Wars to the Wild West. These videos have racked up huge view counts online, with many joking that a third of China’s tokens go to creating the Xue Zhenzhu universe. If you have a score to settle this Halloween, why not dress as Xue and say what you’ve been holding back?

Monkey King and Lin Daiyu

Those looking for a couple’s costume might consider this forbidden CP (online slang for a romantic pairing): Monkey King Sun Wukong from the 16th-century classic Journey to the West and Lin Daiyu, the female protagonist of the 18th-century family and romance novel Dream of the Red Chamber.

A Bilibili content creator first proposed the pairing in 2020, in a video that spliced footage of the two characters from their respective TV adaptations into a surprisingly coherent romantic narrative. Fans argue that Sun’s outgoing, lively personality perfectly complements Lin’s reserved and sensitive nature. Though Lin is known for her frailty and poor health, Sun’s resourcefulness and magical powers could protect her from harm. Both are witty and rebellious, and they could even relate to each other’s experiences as orphans.

The pairing soon caught on, spawning a wave of creative content across social media. Recent advances in generative AI video models have further fueled the trend, producing movie-quality clips of the two traveling together or enjoying a date at a market fair like a modern couple.

However, a recent platform regulation has come between the couple not meant to be: Short-video app Kuaishou announced a crackdown on AI mash-ups on October 8, stating that it had removed more than 2,500 such videos in September, including those featuring “inappropriate romantic pairings of characters from Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber.” Weibo and Douyin have made similar statements, sparking debate over whether these practices breathe new life into old classics or distort traditional culture.

Still, if you’re feeling rebellious this Halloween, this crossover couple might be just for you

Playing possum

For anyone looking for a Halloween costume that is cheap, easy, and says everything without a word, a tiny, weary-looking opossum might be your thing.

Cute but comically defeated, the little animal has become an unlikely mascot among young people to mock the pressures of work and everyday life. In the viral meme, the opossum stands by a window, its tiny paws clasped behind its back as it gazes quietly into the distance. Rather than panicking about being discovered, it seems lost in thought, as if contemplating all of life’s troubles.

Its helpless yet calm posture has resonated with Chinese netizens. For young people overwhelmed by work, relationships, and personal ambitions, the opossum captures the feeling of having little control over life while still trying to stick. As one most-liked comment goes, “The vulnerable me of the past is gone. Now I’m even more fragile.” Instead of giving up or just complaining, the young generation turns their frustrations into self-deprecating humor.

This Halloween, just let the opossum speak for you. No elaborate costume needed, just print out the meme, clasp your hands behind your back, and stare blankly into the distance. Without any explanation, your response to life’s endless demands is written all over your face: message received, task impossible. After all, you are just an opossum, so what do you know?

Doubao personality

AI has become an inseparable part of people’s lives, whether they use it for coding at work or deep chats late at night. One of the most used AI platforms in China is no other than Doubao, developed by tech giant ByteDance. Unlike many other agents such as ChatGPT or Claude, Doubao has a “face”: its logo is a young woman with short, straight hair, a red scarf, and a black top—an easy look to recreate for Halloween.

If you decide to dress up as Doubao this Friday, you’ll need to switch on the “Doubao personality” as well—bluffing your way through everything, then grinning and apologizing when you get caught. Many Doubao users have found that the AI agent would sometimes give out false information, then profusely apologize when you point it out, only to make a similar mistake again next time. So after giving some horrible advice this Halloween, remember to apologize sincerely! And better with a smile!

A “wild dog milk” is forever

Any costume can go out of fashion, but not this one. In a world where everything has an expiration date, this imaginary drink promises to stay fresh forever, even after the universe ends.

Known as “Wild Dog Milk,” this fictional drink has already become a hit this Halloween for its hilarious yet absurd promise of immortality. The viral meme comes from an influencer who made a fake milk carton labeled “Western Guangdong Special Supply: 100% Wild Dog Milk” to prank his grandmother, pretending it was a local specialty someone sent him. Netizens quickly spotted two places that made the packaging even funnier: the only ingredient included is “表 (list, or clock),” and an expiration date of “forever (永久).”

The joke has also inspired a new way to poke fun at the absurdities of everyday life, as netizens declared, “Humans fear time, yet time fears Wild Dog Milk.” As the meme spread, others shared equally bizarre products, including a sausage that could reverse time, with its expiration date in the past but its production date in the future.

Now, if you are seeking a costume that never gets old, dress up as a carton of Wild Dog Milk. Trends may come and go, but this will be fresh forever.

Running errands in town

If you have some errands to run in the city this Halloween, we have just the outfit: an Adidas jacket paired with jeans.

The trend started late this May, after some people found the description page for an Adidas jacket on the e-commerce platform Taobao that read, “pair it with jeans and run errands in the city (搭配牛仔裤，在城里办事).” While it’s easily to guess that the original English description meant that you can pair the jacket with jeans when running errands around the city. Yet the Chinese translation is so literal and machine-like that it sounds awkward and suggests the outfit is for people from small towns or rural areas who have to travel to the city to handle important business they can’t take care of back home.

The screenshot of the description page soon went viral online, with many joking that the line sounds so old-fashioned that they could picture someone hopping on a bicycle to ride into town for market day or to sort out some serious business at a government office in the 1980s.

The brand has responded quickly to the fad and released customized T-shirts featuring the Chinese phrase 进城办事 (literally “going to the city to handle some business”) within days. Some stores in cities like Shanghai and Wuhan even put up a large sign that reads “Adidas City Office,” and the slogan “Wear Adidas, handle important matters (穿adi，办das)”—a wordplay on the similar pronunciation of “das” and the Chinese phrase 大事 (dashi, serious business)—is also featured on billboards at some outlets, subways, and other public spaces.

Compared with the memes’ popularity, though, the customized T-shirt’s price, ranging from 448 yuan to 548 yuan apiece, has cooled off many consumers’ enthusiasm. They claimed, “I don’t have any serious matters to deal with, after all.”

Flash steps

If you’re not big on special makeup or buying a costume just for the day, you can still learn three dance moves that will be recognized across China. Though the dance may not be as easy as it appears.

Clips from Beijing Dance Academy tutorial videos filmed about a decade ago unexpectedly went viral in September. Young people were soon mimicking three moves: “flash step (闪身步),” “prodigal kicking the ball (浪子踢球),” and “black bear shaking fur (狗熊哆嗦毛).” The first is a quick, side-to-side dodge; the second involves bending one leg before hopping into a kick with arms outstretched, like kicking a soccer ball; and the third combines vigorous shaking, big strides, and clapping, like a bear shaking water from its fur.

Celebrities including Chinese pop star Zhang Yixing, German fitness influencer Pamela Reif, and American basketball player Jared McCain all joined the trend. Boxing athlete Chen Nien Chin even celebrated her semifinal victory with the flash step during the Asian Games in Nagoya late this September.

While these moves may look funny on their own, they are actually from centuries-old folk traditions. The first two are from Anhui’s flower-drum-lantern dance, and the bear move is from Shandong’s drum-beating yangge dance. Both are recognized as national intangible cultural heritage. In full performances, the moves can be striking and difficult to execute correctly as they require considerable strength, stable joints, and good coordination. Some people have injured their knees trying to imitate them for short videos and ended up in the hospital.

So take it easy when dancing. Performing in your own style may help your version stand out even more.