3D printing fuels creative boom in Chinese New Year gifts

SHENZHEN — As the Year of the Horse approached, a different kind of "gallop" was underway inside a sprawling workshop in Shenzhen, a major tech hub in South China's Guangdong province. Shelves there were lined with hundreds of humming 3D printers, and technician Yang Shengwu moved among the machines, preparing them to produce yet another batch of Chinese New Year products.

After carefully wiping down a build plate and loading fresh filament spools, Yang pressed start. Nozzles sprang into action, melting red material into fine threads that slowly built up, layer by layer, before yielding festive horse ornaments, good-luck signs and intricately designed zodiac decorations.

This factory is run by Shenzhen Huafast Industry Co Ltd, which currently operates 5,000 3D printers capable of making toys and tools from a range of materials. As Spring Festival drew nearer, the facility became flooded with orders for personalized Chinese New Year gifts.

According to company head Li Jian, speed is one of 3D printing's biggest advantages. "Products can go from design to market almost instantly. There's no need for expensive, time-consuming molds," he explained, adding that this technology is ideal for meeting the tight deadlines of the holiday season."Complex fidget toys with moving parts can be printed in one piece, with no assembly required."

A recent order highlighted this advantage perfectly: 40,000 desktop ornaments featuring a horse and the Chinese character fu, meaning fortune, were due in just one week. "Only 3D printing could meet that timeline," Yang said.

This technology is not limited to novelty items. Across China, 3D printing is quietly transforming traditional industries. In Laixi, East China's Shandong province, artisans crafting delicate, flower-shaped steamed buns now use 3D-printed molds to meet high demand with greater precision.

Meanwhile, in Jingdezhen, another eastern city known as China's "porcelain capital" in Jiangxi province, artists are combining AI modeling and 3D printing with ancient glazing techniques to create innovative ceramics.

Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics show China's 3D printing equipment output surged 52.5 percent year-on-year in 2025. Notably, the technology is becoming increasingly vital in advanced manufacturing, especially for industrial parts. "As printing technology and materials improve, more clients are coming to us for custom industrial components," Li said.

Industry data back Li's view. Data from the Additive Manufacturing Alliance of China show that the scale of China's 3D printing manufacturing sector grew from 20.8 billion yuan ($3.01 billion) to 70 billion yuan during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Yang's personal experience reflects this broader trend. When he first entered the field, he and his colleagues managed just 500 machines. Two years later, that number grew to 5,000. After this year's Spring Festival holiday, the workshop's printer count is set to expand to 10,000.

While pushing boundaries with cutting-edge industrial components, 3D printing technology has never strayed far from ordinary consumers. The growing popularity of consumer-grade printers means more people can now create, not just buy, their holiday gifts. In a flagship store of Bambu Lab — a consumer tech company focusing on desktop 3D printers — children watched in awe as a printer slowly built a horse carrying a gold ingot right before their eyes.

Yang and his colleagues are also testing new product categories like shoes and basketballs. Recently, Yang tried a novel creation — a basketball with a texture nearly as realistic as leather. When he tested it out, a group of curious children quickly gathered. "They kept asking me questions about 3D printing," he said. "That moment felt really rewarding."

Xinhua