Bing Dwen Dwen panda mascot is all the rage at the Winter Olympics

BEIJING — One of the stars of this year's Winter Olympic Games is its mascot: a fluffy panda named Bing Dwen Dwen.

The stuffed animal version has become so sought after that people are camping overnight to buy it.

Outside one of Beijing's largest official Olympic merchandise store on a recent day, the line is long and growing longer — despite a loudspeaker blaring the same line over and over: All Bing Dwen Dwen stuffed animals have sold out for the day.

Li Zhaoyang's still on his Lunar New Year break from high school, and he says he joined the line just to get in on all the buzz around Bing Dwen Dwen. He wants to collect the panda mascot as an Olympics memento.

One small problem I tell him: Bing Dwen Dwen is sold out. Even the 500 pandas allotted for pre-sale orders have been nabbed by people who lined up outside the store the night before.

Even those customers aren't so lucky. They will only be able to pick up their orders during the last week of February, after the Olympics Games have ended.