The cards ended up being posted bearing the words "Happy Spring Festival" - less creative, but safe.
Moreover, the image of snakes - long, sneaky and legless - is hard to render in cartoon form.
"It is impossible to draw a cute snake," said Zhang Ying, a 35-year-old designer. Zhang said she wanted to bash her head against the drawing board designing wrapping paper featuring the zodiac animal.
If she drew too many details, the snake would be scary. "Nobody wants to see a standing cobra with its forked tongue on their presents," she said.
With fewer details, Zhang said, people would mistake the animal for an earthworm, or a rope. "I miss the Year of the Dog," she said. "The fuzzy little puppy would be cute either way."
In Sichuan province, a plastic snake street decoration was removed within a month of its construction, as "it is unbelievably ugly and by no means looks like snake", according to a news report.
Comprising two golden snakes with big heads and sharp, curved bird beaks, the two-story-high decoration was set beside one of the busiest highways in Sichuan.
"Chicken-head snake!" a netizen commented. The photo has been forwarded more than 400 times on Sina Weibo, the largest micro blogging platform in China.
"It looks like a giant monster, or an alien," said another netizen. "Funny, but spooky."
Nevertheless, the snake plays an important part in China's mythology and folklore.
According to a widely known Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor, the mighty god living in heaven, one day decided there should be a way of measuring time. So he invited all the animals to a grand race, and claimed that each year of the Chinese zodiac would be named in honor, and in the order, of the first 12 animals to finish.
The Snake finished sixth, right after the Dragon, one of the most powerful signs in the Chinese zodiac, and before the Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Young Spanish scientist has a career 'made in China'
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