Do you want to send your loved one a kiss? The problem is almost solved thanks to a Chinese product with warm silicone “lips”. The device, touted as a way to allow long-distance couples to share “real” physical intimacy, is causing a stir among Chinese social media users, who have reacted with both intrigue and shock.

Equipped with pressure and trigger sensors, the device is able to simulate a real kiss by reproducing the pressure, movement and temperature of the user’s lips, CNN and News.ro reported.

In addition to the kiss motion, it can also transmit the user’s sound.

However, while many social media users saw the funny side of the device, others criticized it as “vulgar” and “creepy”. Some have expressed concern that minors may purchase and use it.

“I don’t understand (the device) but I’m totally shocked,” said one comment on Weibo.

On the similar platform Twitter, several hashtags about the device have garnered hundreds of millions of views in the past week.

To send a kiss, users must download the mobile app and connect the device to their phone’s charging port. After pairing with their partners in the app, couples can start a video call and send copies of their kisses to each other.

According to the Chinese state newspaper Global Times, the invention was patented by the Changzhou Professional Institute of Mechatronic Technology.

“I was in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend during university, so we only spoke on the phone. That’s where the inspiration for this device came from,” said Jiang Zhongli, the lead inventor of the design, as quoted by the Global Times.

Jiang applied for a patent in 2019, but was granted it in January 2023 and now hopes someone else can expand and refine the design.

A similar invention, Kissinger, was launched by an institute in Malaysia in 2016. But it was in the form of a touch-sensitive silicone pad, not real lips.

Although this Chinese device is advertised for long-distance relationships, it also allows users to anonymously pair up with strangers using the app’s “kiss square” feature. If two strangers approach and like each other, they may ask to exchange kisses.

Users can also “upload” their kisses to the app for others to download and experience.

On China’s largest online store Taobao, dozens of users shared their reviews of the device, which costs 288 yuan ($41).

“My partner didn’t think kissing (long distance) was okay at first, so she was amazed when she used it… It’s the best surprise I’ve given her in our long distance relationship. Thanks technology,” one user commented.