Olympics-Mascot diehards, scalpers camp out for Bing Dwen Dwen dolls

People wearing face masks, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, wait in line to enter a flagship merchandise store for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Wangfujing street in Beijing, China February 9, 2022, following a surge in demand for merchandise featuring the official mascot Bing Dwen Dwen. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

BEIJING (Reuters) - Die-hard fans, and scalpers, queued overnight for the chance to order anything in the likeness of the Winter Games mascot, a panda bear named Bing Dwen Dwen, as factories scrambled to ramp up production to catch up with demand.

Armed with foldable stools, self-heating adhesives and battery-operated hand warmers, hundreds of people braved the freezing temperatures outside a flagship store in Beijing's Wangfujing shopping area.