In the week before the Lunar New Year holiday, the small entrance of Beijing's Tianle Toy Centre was swamped by parents searching for the perfect gift for their only children.
To many mothers and fathers, the five-storey building inconveniently located in a tiny alley, or hutong, next to the Temple of Heaven, is a bewildering place. That bewilderment only intensified in the rush to prepare for the calendar's biggest family gathering and gift-giving festival.
But this year, many arrived with a specific purpose in mind. They were looking for a Wii, the world's most popular third-generation games console. The Wii comes with a novel motion-sensitive controller that allows players to mimic the movements of bowling, tennis or even a whole action-packed adventure.
The Wii had become one of the hottest holiday items in Beijing and other big cities by the end of last month. Enthusiastic parents - many from the one-child, post-economic-reform generation - emptied shelves on a daily basis.
No one knows how many have been sold in China. Nintendo, the manufacturer, does not sell it on the mainland or even in Hong Kong.
The lack of official sales channels means mainland buyers face a lot of shopping hassles and end up paying 20 per cent more than customers in overseas markets.