Data published by the China Gift Industry Institute shows that the country owns about 768.4 billion yuan (about $122.06 billion) a year in the gift market, consisting of 505.5 billion yuan in individual demand and 262.9 billion yuan in institutional demand, Beijing Morning Post reported.

The traditional Spring Festival becomes a hot buying period, when most Chinese bring along gifts when visiting friends and relatives.

The Ministry of Commerce said people throughout the country spent more than 470 billion yuan during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, an increase of 16.2 percent from last year. Money spent on buying gifts accounted for a large portion of their total expenditure.