China's Food, Retail Firms Rake In USD146 Billion Over Chinese New Year
Xu Wei
DATE:  Feb 23 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China's Food, Retail Firms Rake In USD146 Billion Over Chinese New Year China's Food, Retail Firms Rake In USD146 Billion Over Chinese New Year

(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- China's retail and catering companies had sales of CNY926 billion (USD146 billion) over the week-long Chinese New Year holiday as more people gave up the tradition of eating at home with family in favor of travel.

Revenue jumped more than 10 percent in the sectors from Feb. 15 through Feb. 21 from a year earlier, commerce ministry data shows. Fast-growing categories included seasonal goods, green foods, jewelry, smart home appliances and other digital products.

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is a national holiday based on the lunar calendar. People usually spend it with family in their hometowns, eating home-cooked meals. However, increasing numbers of young adults are using the time to travel and are therefore shopping and eating out.

The southern province of Guilin welcomed 30 percent more tourists during the holiday period, while northern provinces Heilongjiang and Liaoning were top spots for snowy getaways. Some individual attractions that fared well over the break were Tianjin Binhai New Area Library, which had 12,000 visitors a day, and Hunan Provincial Museum, which had more than 15,000 daily.

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Spring Festival,Retail,Catering,TOURISM,Chinese New Year