Amit Pathak, a doctoral student from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, is trying hard to find small "Made in China" Ganesha statues for Diwali celebrations, but it's tough to track them down in Beijing markets.

Pathak is organizing a Diwali event at The Taj Pavilion in Lido, on October 21, and has invited more than 65 students, including international students. He is planning to display the cultural aspects of the festival and wants to gift small Chinese Ganesha figurines to his classmates from foreign countries. “It’s challenging to find them here,” he told CGTN. 

It's hard to believe that Chinese Diwali products, which have flooded Indian markets, take a massive effort to locate and purchase in Beijing. A recent Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham) report says that the value of Chinese goods sold in India during last year's Diwali was around one billion US dollars. Out of the total, 616 million US dollars was Diwali-related items such as toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware, and decorative goods.

Pathak, who arrived in Beijing last year, is the not the only one hunting for handy Chinese Diwali products. Ashwini Deshpande, head of marketing at GMGC, a gaming company, claims that after living in Beijing for a few years she knows buying Chinese Diwali products in Beijing is complicated. 

“That's why I purchased diyas (earthen oil lamps), small lights from India during my last visit,” she says. However, she forgot to buy rangoli (a traditional Indian decoration and patterns made with powdered paint or painted ground rice, particularly during festivals), and now, she is trying hard to find them in various Indian stores to online stores. 

Pathak and Deshpande roll their eyes in amusement while explaining the paradoxical situation of easily finding Chinese Diwali products in India, but not in Beijing. Deshpande explains that the number of Indians living in Beijing is low. “And low volume sale does not make a good business sense for Chinese Diwali products here in Beijing,” she explains. 

Ashwini Deshpande observation holds some water, as according to the Embassy of India in Beijing, only 35,500 Indians are living in China, 18,000 of which are students. 

Diwali is one of the biggest Indian festivals and always witnesses massive celebrations. Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and younger brother Lakshman to Ayodhya, ending their fourteen-year-long exile. To celebrate their arrival, the people of Ayodhya lit up the entire kingdom with earthen diyas.

The three-day Diwali festival has transcended borders and is celebrated on a large scale in foreign countries with a considerable Indian population. Barack Obama was the first US president to celebrate Diwali personally at the White House in 2009. He also talked about the festival in a Facebook post soon after he lit the Diwali diya in his Oval Office. 

India's population living abroad is the largest in the world with 16 million people living outside the country in 2015 according to the latest UN survey on international migrants.

Amidst the rush to find Diwali products like diyas, Ganesha statues, rangolis, lights and crackers, Indian restaurants are playing on the festival’s nostalgia. 

Apart from Taj Pavilion, another Indian restaurant Punjabi is gearing up to celebrate Diwali in a traditional style on October 20. Chowdhury Gireesh, a proprietor of the restaurant, told CGTN that a short prayer would be held as a part of the celebrations. 

The restaurant is serving a buffet with more than 20 Indian dishes. Organizers are planning to light up the restaurant to create an ambiance of Diwali. “We have invited DJ Mojo who will play Bollywood and other popular numbers till late in the night.”

India is celebrating Diwali on October 19.