Dragon-themed products are experiencing a surge in popularity as the Year of the Dragon approaches, with a wide range of items such as food, fashion and traditional crafts featuring the mythical beast captivating consumers.

In the Fushan district of Yantai, Shandong province, Qu Baole has been busy making bobo, a type of wheat bun that is larger than a regular steamed bun, since mid-November. "Bobo decorated with dragon elements have become a hit among consumers, with one particular series called the 'Wealth-inviting Dragon' being especially sought after," said Qu, who has created eight kinds of dragon-themed buns.

The dragon, or long in Chinese, is the only mythical creature among the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. It has existed in legendary tales for millennia, and has long-held spiritual importance in China, said cultural experts.

The Wealth-inviting Dragon bobo is made in the shape of a cartoon dragon. It contains six golden coin-shaped dough pieces, symbolizing the promise of wealth for those who partake. Qu and two other women work tirelessly from 8 am to 10 pm to meet orders for dragon-themed bobo.

The enthusiasm for dragon-themed products extends beyond culinary delights.

Searches for dragon-themed items on JD.com, a popular online retail platform, exceeded 23 million in the first three weeks of January, according to a report released by the JD Consumer and Industry Development Research Institute on Jan 23.

For example, the dragonthemed hanfu, traditional Chinese attire, saw a nearly twofold year-on-year increase in transaction volume.

Accessories such as hairpins adorned with dragon motifs have seen a remarkable sixfold surge in transaction volume, while sales of gold bracelets are over 10 times higher than last year, according to the report. "Horse face skirts with images of dragons are very popular," said Hu Chunqing, the operation director of Chenfei Clothing Co in Caoxian, a hanfu production base in Shandong.

The company has sold 35,000 sets of hanfu this month, and half of them were dragon-themed.

Sales of dragon-themed kites have also been soaring. Orders for the kites were placed several months in advance of the Chinese New Year in Wangjiazhuangzi village in Weifang, Shandong, which is renowned as China's kite capital.

With an annual production of over 90 million kites, manufacturers in the village have been designing various dragon-themed kites since October to meet the increasing demand.

"A kite named 'Golden Dragon Playing with the Pearl' has seen a rapid surge in orders, accounting for over half of our total orders," said Sun Yuemei, who has been running a kite factory in the village for 18 years. "The total sales of kites is basically the same as in previous years, but the dragon-themed kites are selling better than kites featuring other zodiac animals compared to previous years."

Many Chinese living abroad also placed orders for the dragon kites on online platforms, Sun added.

A hashtag asking about people having dragon babies that began trending on social media platform Sina Weibo in May has been shared over 87 million times.

"The dragon is one of the iconic images in ancient China, and the zodiac sign of the dragon is more popular among young people than other animals," Liu Zhongxuan, design director of the Innovation Culture Service Co of the National Library of China, was quoted as saying by Tide News.

Qu Baole (middle) and her colleagues display dragon-themed bobo buns they made in a factory in the Fushan district of Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Liu Weifang/For China Daily]