The demand for gold is reaching its peak season in China as the Spring Festival of the Year of the Loong (Dragon), draws closer.

A non-stop stream of customers swarmed to a gold store in Wuhan City of central China's Hubei Province recently despite rising gold prices.

Compared with last year's 420 yuan (around 59 U.S. dollars) per gram, the price of 600 yuan (around 84 U.S. dollars) per gram this year hasn't deterred gold consumers, with an increasing number of them young buyers.

Meanwhile, bank gold bar sales, like those offered by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), are gaining popularity as it can preserve value. ICBC's gold bars are priced around 490 yuan (around 69 U.S. dollars) per gram, nearly 100 yuan (around 15 U.S. dollars) lower than gold jewelry.

"I can save a lot by buying it at the bank. I can keep it or make some jewelry (with gold) at some store," said a consumer.

In Nanning City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, gold stores also saw enthusiastic consumers.

According to a store clerk, the sales volume of gold jewelry has witnessed a significant increase as the Chinese New Year approaches. And among the various designs, jewelry with the Chinese zodiac Loong holds immense popularity.

"Pendants and jewelry accessories of the Chinese zodiac Loong are quite popular. For example, some of our products are cute, some are three-dimensional, and some are lifelike. There's a good variety in our store," said Pan Xiaoli, head of Heping Gold Store.