On Wednesday morning, one passionate question united China's microbloggers: What happened to the big yellow duck?

This month, a 54-foot yellow inflated duck sailed into Victoria Harbor, triggering a jubilant response from tourists and locals and wall-to-wall media coverage, as well as a tidal wave of waterfowl-inspired products. On Wednesday, though, pictures showing the giant duck had evidently melted into a yellow puddle prompted an anguished outcry across social media around the world. "#DEVASTATED," ran one hashtag...