Two new Lunar New Year sets - Lion Dance and Chinese New Year Temple Fair - were unveiled by the Lego Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of toys and play materials.
The toys' launch follows the success of the famous Dragon Boat Race, Dragon Dance and Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner sets that were also produced to mark China's annual festivities.
The sets often come with eight characters including lion dancers and a man wearing a rat costume. The new Lego sets, featuring traditional Chinese cultural elements rolled out on December 26 in China and Asia-Pacific markets. They are available internationally this month, and are part of the Danish company's attempts to get closer to young Chinese consumers.
According to Lego chief executive officer Niels Christiansen, playing helps children develop some of the skills and personal characteristics they need to succeed in the future, including innovation, problem solving, teamwork, and resilience said.
Lego invests heavily in innovation, with at least 60 percent of products being introduced or upgraded each year - "a daunting task for us," Christiansen said. Yet at the heart of the company is the "power and desire to excite children," he pointed out.
Lego's goal in China is to increase its brand image and make it more accessible to Chinese families. The group has founded three flagship stores and 140 accredited branches in more than 20 cities on the Chinese mainland since the launch of its first flagship outlet in Shanghai in 2016, according to data from Lego.
Lego has opened 73 new shops in 16 Chinese cities in 2019 and this year will open 80 new stores in major locations in the mainland. In July of last year, Lego launched its first certified shop in Northwest China.
Approximately 42 percent of its accredited stores are located in developing first-tier cities including Sichuan province's Chengdu and Hubei province's Wuhan.
Around 12 percent are in second and third-tier regions, like Hefei in the province of Anhui, Changchun in the province of Jilin, and Wuxi in Jiangsu.
By the end of 2020, Lego plans to open 220 more stores across China, a move that reflects the determination of the toy retailer to expand further into the world's second-biggest economy.
Meanwhile, Lego's profits for the current period rose by 4 percent to 14.8 billion Danish crowns ($2.18 billion) compared to the same period in the previous year, according to financial returns published earlier last month by Lego for the first half of 2019.
Lego was hailed by Brand Finance as the "World's Most Powerful Brand" in February 2015, replacing auto giant Ferrari.
