Holiday provides golden week for China economy

CHINA’S weeklong National Day holiday, popularly known as the Golden Week, highlighted the country’s unabated economic vitality and flourishing consumption market.

From October 1 to 7, total sales of China’s retail and catering firms reached 1.52 trillion yuan (US$215 billion), up 8.5 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Consumption in the culture and entertainment sector was also strong.

Mainland box office revenue totaled about 5 billion yuan during Golden Week, making it the highest-grossing National Day film season in history, thanks to blockbusters featuring the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Tourism revenue also saw a record of nearly 650 billion yuan during the period, up 8.47 percent year on year, official data showed. A total of 782 million domestic tourist trips were made during the holiday.

“The booming ‘holiday economy’ shows China’s economy and consumption are transforming as the country further implements its highquality upgrading,” said Xu Guangjian, a professor from the School of Public Administration and Policy of the Renmin University of China.

Meanwhile, technology also reshaped consumption during Golden Week.

Daily transactions of online payments rose 79.92 percent year on year during the seven-day holiday, according to the Chinese online payment clearinghouse NetsUnion Clearing Corporation.

A total of 8.594 billion transactions were processed by the platform during the past week, involving 4.33 trillion yuan in volume.

The country’s two major third-party payment platforms WeChat Pay and Alipay both reported robust transactions during Golden Week.

“The surging transaction volume of online payments reflects the shift in people’s preferred payment method and the development of China’s online payment market,” said Dong Ximiao, a researcher with the National Institution for Finance and Development.

Demand for high-quality and customized tours is on the rise. “Red tourism,” or revolutionary-themed tourism, has also gained popularity.

(Xinhua)