HANGZHOU -- Claw machines in shopping malls are usually filled with toys, but one game in East China swapped plush prizes for crustaceans.

On Sunday, a claw game sponsored by e-commerce company Alibaba attracted crowds of curious visitors at a shopping center in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province.

Hopeful crab-grabbers could scan a QR code to try the game, paying for each turn. Those with high credit scores on Alibaba's shopping platform Taobao could try the game twice for free.

The event attracted more than 1,000 participants in 12 hours, staff at the shopping mall said.

"A lot of customers were lining up to try the game, most of them young people," said a vendor at the shopping mall.

One woman managed to take home 10 of the edible creatures, according to local portal website Zhejiang Online.

The story triggered more than 25,000 comments on news portal Netease.com.

Chinese people often eat crabs in the autumn, when the meat quality is at its best. Zhejiang is near Jiangsu province, which produces one of the country's most famous crab varieties.