Holiday period ignites city’s consumption boom
During the New Year holiday, Beijing residents and tourists participated in a series of winter events such as light shows, food festivals and dynamic music, resulting in a consumption boom in key commercial areas across the capital.
On the banks of the Liangma River, the annual light festival kicked off at the trendy Solana Shopping Mall in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. The immersive light and shadow pathway generated magical photo opportunities by illuminating a parade of colorfully-adorned floats and cartoon characters in festive attire.
Across the capital, New Year activities attracted several times more foot traffic to the commercial areas than usual, resulting in heightened trendy leisure consumption that included dining, entertainment performances and ice skating.
Statistics from the Beijing Commerce Bureau show that during the holiday period, customer flow in key commercial areas such as Wangfujing, Zhongguancun and the Dashilan commercial zone of Qianmen Street reached 629,000, 263,000 and 241,000, representing year-onyear increases of 77.3 percent, 92.7 percent and 93.5 percent respectivewith ly. Major shopping districts also organized a variety of entertaining activities. Beijing Fang created an art exhibition, collaborating with popular IP creators selected by Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to showcase contemporary trends, while the Longfu Temple commercial district hosted the Dragon Dongqiang New Year market, featuring a collection of elements such as national trends, cultural creativity, retro and handmade crafts.
Key enterprises in such sectors as department stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, catering and e-commerce, achieved sales of 25.1 billion yuan ($3.49 billion) through the holiday period. Among them, catering consumption showed strong momentum, with a year-on-year growth of 27.9 percent. The customer flow in 60 key commercial areas in the city reached some 22.18 million, up 40.5 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Beijing Commerce Bureau.
Beijing also experienced growth in cultural and tourism consumption during the New Year holiday, rich offerings of products and services. Events such as the opening of Beijing Library, the return of the New Year’s concert, offline countdown events and ice and snow activities across all 16 districts stimulated double-digit growth. The capital also organized a total of 507 cultural activities, comprising 596 sessions, with the participation of 795,000 residents. The number of activities surged by 24 percent compared to the same period in 2023. A total of 170 monitored tourist attractions received 4.83 million visits, generating an operating revenue of 324.71 million yuan.
Chaoyang district continues to be an economic powerhouse and an important window for external exchanges in Beijing, possessing unique advantages in consumption. This year, the district will promote construction of the CBD-Sanlitun International Consumption Experience Zone, driving the overall upgrading of the central region’s business.
Chaoyang also plans to optimize its automobile consumption structure, attracting more new energy vehicles and high-end cars. It will strengthen the integration of consumption formats such as commerce, tourism, culture and sports, while boosting growth of flagship stores and the nighttime economy.