Zhao Songxue, owner of a Shiba Inu themed cafe Dahuang's Home in Beijing's Chaoyang district, tells customers how to get along with dogs. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Some hedgehogs are very tame, but some might be a little afraid of a human touch and will curl into a ball with their spikes standing up. This is why cafe owners Han Xuefei and Jiang Zijun usually stand by and guide customers when they want to play with the domesticated hedgehogs.

"They are easily frightened so you have to be very patient," Han said. "You need to hold them very gently and avoid speaking loudly. Soon, they will become submissive and flatten their spikes, then there will be no problems touching them."

Han adopted her first hedgehog from a veterinarian in April and joined an online community for hedgehogs, from which she adopted more hedgehogs. She said it was not easy to keep them at home, so she decided to put them in her cafe where they could also be the cafe's unique feature.

The hedgehogs soon attracted many people, including children and tourists from other countries. "They were very curious. Many people said they had never seen a hedgehog at such close proximity before," Han said. "I saw them really enjoy playing with the hedgehogs, and some of them were saying to the hedgehogs 'come to mommy'."