Tonghuashi (童话师) tops China's iOS free chart for 3 days, then hits the monetization wall

Tonghuashi is a free-to-play cozy simulation game in which players plant flowers, fill orders and decorate a home, developed by Foshan Shishang Dushi Network and published by 4399. It launched on iOS on June 18, 2026, hit #1 on China's iOS free chart on day one, above Tencent (腾讯)'s Honor of Kings (王者荣耀), held the top spot for three days, and stayed in the top 10 through June 23, per DianDian Data (点点数据), cited by DataEye.

The launch was a deliberate bet on the flower-farming genre's momentum. Wo de Huayuan Shijie, a flower game from a 10-person team, had reached 300M RMB in total revenue within three months, and flower titles had long ruled WeChat (微信) mini-game charts. 4399 selected a studio with a female-casual pedigree, whose predecessor was the Flash portal flash8 and whose 2023 title Menghuan de Cheng exceeded 80M RMB in cumulative iOS and Google Play revenue, and timed the release to the Dragon Boat holiday (端午节), ramping ad creatives from small tests to 1,000+ on launch day and 2,000+ by June 22.

The free-chart surge did not translate into revenue. Tonghuashi entered the iOS grossing chart only on day two, at #194, and peaked at #116 (DataEye). Its payment loop was thin, because the cozy, no-pressure design that drove downloads also meant there was little to buy. Sohu summed it up as praised but not profitable (叫好不叫座), meaning nobody pays. It entered the WeChat mini-game grossing top 100 on June 25, where monetization is lighter and more ad-driven, and by mid-July coverage still grouped it with the female-casual wave that had once put it at TapTap new-game #1.

The case shows the gap between a download hit and a business. Tonghuashi had the packaging (pastel art, extensive decoration freedom, Disney (迪士尼) ticket prize draws), the audience (430,000+ TapTap follows, a 9.0 score) and user acquisition (UA), but the light monetization meant the free-chart #1 did not become a grossing hit, and the spike was tied to launch timing and holiday traffic rather than durable payments.