For retailers in the west, the week before Christmas is one of the busiest periods of the year. But at the Sheng Hong Christmas shop in the Chinese city of Yiwu, the manager is taking time out to plan for next year.

Sitting beside a 2.4-metre inflatable Santa Claus with a plastic base that allows it to rock forward in a jovial manner, Luo Jianbo says the emphasis will be on other blow-up dolls. "The Santa was very popular this year, so we need to think up new models for 2006," he says.