BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) — China saw steady growth in consumption during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with the “super golden week” spurring diverse spending patterns, official data revealed on Wednesday.
Key retail and catering enterprises reported a year-on-year sales increase of 2.7 percent during the holiday, per data from the Ministry of Commerce.
From Oct. 1 to 7, the passenger traffic of 78 pedestrian streets and business districts monitored by the ministry rose 8.8 percent year on year, and their business revenues grew 6 percent.
The holiday saw new spending trends, with green, smart and China-chic products gaining significant traction. According to the data, sales of green organic food surged 27.9 percent year on year, while sales of smart home appliances and China-chic clothing increased 14.3 percent and 14.1 percent.
This year, the National Day holiday coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, extending the public holiday period from Oct. 1 through Oct. 8. Healthier, low-sugar and low-fat mooncakes became a holiday favorite, reflecting a consumer shift toward quality and health-oriented choices.
Services consumption also gained significant momentum. A slate of high-quality domestic films spurred a movie-going frenzy, with China’s holiday box office exceeding 1.79 billion yuan (252 million U.S. dollars) as of 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Various sports events also ignited spectator enthusiasm, boosting spending on catering services, as well as related cultural and creative products. ■
