A recently-opened cultural creative shop in the National Exhibition and Convention Center, the main venue of this year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE), has been a hit, though the Expo is still a few days away.

In the shop, people are surrounded by derivative products from the CIIE, from night lamps, bookmarks and mugs, to garments and home & living products. On the opening day, the pair of clover cups, the Jinbao badge, the Four-Happiness bookmark set and the African Blackwood bookmarks became the shop’s hot sellers.

The idea of opening the store came from the unexpected popularity of the CIIE mascot Jinbao. Last year, during the first CIIE, nearly one thousand Jinbao dolls sold out within just one hour.

As the mascot of the CIIE, Jinbao not only shows up in shops, but also online. Jinbao stickers are widely used by WeChat users. Compared with last year, the updated version features animated GIFs.

Behind the popularity both the shop and the CIIE mascot is the spillover effect of the import-themed fair. Last year, 172 countries, regions and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the event, with the value of intended deals topping almost US$58 billion. CIIE has thus quickly become an integral part of many exhibitors’ yearly agenda.