XINING - Spiderman, a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books and Hollywood movies, has crawled out of screen onto the roofs of many Chinese private cars.

The car decoration toys have become a new fad in Chinese provinces such as Hunan, Henan, Hainan, Shandong and Qinghai, though nobody seems to know where the trend originated from.

Measuring between 22 to 45 cm, the Spiderman toys range in price from 50 to 100 yuan (around $8 to $16). They are usually placed on the car roof or trunk.

In addition to Spiderman, Batman, Captain America and Minions are also popular decorations among Chinese drivers. One store on Taobao, China's most popular online shopping platform, has sold more than 18,000 such toys in just one month.

Wang Ning, 21, a spray painter in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, installed a Spiderman toy on his car roof. "I think it makes my car more attractive," he said.

"I'm a fan of Spiderman movies. It's fashionable to put it on my car," said another driver Zhu Wenbin.

Xu Jingbo from Soochow University said the trend demonstrates that Chinese are increasingly willing to show their individuality, and need something fresh to enrich their mundane lives.

However, the fast fashion may pose a danger to traffic. Hu Jinwen, a traffic police officer in Xining, warned the decorative toys may distract other drivers and cause accidents.