A scene from Dragon. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In interviews with Chinese media outlets, he did not dodge questions on his muscles. And at every theater he visited, the handsome actor always wore a big, warm smile and posed for photos with screaming fans.

The effort seems to have paid off.

Despite Dragon being his first feature-length movie, Lykov is a heartthrob for Chinese female fans, and his follower count is now nearly 130,000 on Sina Weibo, the Chinese answer to Twitter.

Asked why he is doing such intensive promotion for the film, Lykov says: "I know the schedule is very tight, but I am really excited to meet so many Chinese fans."

Lykov, who has also worked with the fashion house Gucci, and who speaks five languages, says he is studying Chinese, and hopes to act in Chinese movies in the future.

Meanwhile, Dragon's director, Indar Dzhendubaev, who is confident about competing with Hollywood, says: "Russian films have a connection with Chinese culture. This link can help us establish a new level of communication."

He says Chinese fans had noticed Dragon earlier this year, which made the film a hit in cyberspace.

The movie was released in Russia in December, and the subtitled version soon reached several video-streaming sites, such as Bilibili.com.