Were there ever any Chinese "dragon hunters" that went looking for the existence of dragons like how there are people looking for the Loch Ness Monster and the Sasquatch?
There are a few ways I'm aware of that ancient Chinese thought of dragons.
The dragon is considered a god and plays heavily in creation stories. They would have been worshipped, and to my understanding that's why they appear in statues at entrances (to protect to home), as well as were used exclusively on clothing by emperors (mandate of heaven).
There are references of use of dragon bone in medicine as early as the volume 《傷寒雜病論》 (late Eastern Han), though this volume may not date that early and may be Ming/Qing era authors pretending to be an earlier authority. Here's a BBC write up in 2007 hinting at difficulties of keeping dinosaur bones excavated intact.
Ancient descriptions of dragons appear in texts that are fantastical in nature but that hasn't stopped seafaring communities of the past from building temples to ask for appeasement (since dragons are seen as rules of the water and weather).
As for modern China, asides from those who still believe dinosaurs are dragon bones, there's also a large amount of superstition associated with the relative luck of those born in a dragon year (particularly first sons) compared to other children.