YIWU, China—Li Bingnan got his orders in October: Design a snake-themed sculpture for his hometown——and make the scaly, legless creature cute. The Year of the Snake is slithering closer ...

Lunar New Year designs often feature cute depictions of the year's Chinese zodiac animal. But making a snake cute is a challenge, artists say, resulting in an array of biologically inaccurate ...

The 57-year-old, born in the Year of the Monkey, offered a tip: “As long as the snake doesn’t look like a snake, then I’m not afraid.” The years of the Dog, Sheep and Rabbit offer huggability.

“Many people think snakes look scary,” she explained in Mandarin. Lunar New Year designs often feature cute depictions of the year’s Chinese zodiac animal. But making a snake cute is a ...