An illuminated ship at the Spring Festival celebrations-themed exhibition at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing, on January 12, 2025. 

Characterized by travel, family reunions, and feasts, the Spring Festival, the biggest traditional festival in China, sees food, accommodation, transportation, entertainment, and shopping consumption soar. It has become a precursor of the country’s annual consumption and economic development.

The 2025 Spring Festival, the first since the traditional Chinese holiday was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, showcased the confidence and vitality of China's economic growth.

Consumption demand showed strong growth, with the tourism market and box office revenue reaching historical highs. Nine billion cross-regional trips were made, with self-driving trips reaching 7.2 billion. Among the traffic on highways, new-energy vehicles accounted for about one-fifth.

A Lantern Festival temple fair in Shanghai draws visitors braving the cold, on February 11, 2025.

A Good Beginning

A number of high-quality domestic films were released, leading to a great surge of movie-goers. According to China Film Administration data, the box office revenue during the Spring Festival hit RMB 9.51 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.64 percent, helping the Chinese film market make a good beginning. The number of moviegoers exceeded 187 million, setting new records for both box office revenue and attendance.

The demand for upgraded and quality goods has significantly increased. The Spring Festival is a concentrated buying season for special purchases, with family needs, social gifts, and corporate year-end benefits overlapping to drive a surge in the demand for food, healthcare products, clothing, decorations, and gifts. The sale of gold and silver jewelry saw a notable increase, with sales revenue rising by 18.8 percent year on year.

Cosmetics and hygiene products sold even faster, with a year-on-year increase of 38.4 percent. Smart home appliances, such as robotic vacuum cleaners and dishwashers have become new favorites, with sales of age-friendly smart home products in rural areas surging by 230 percent. The retail sales of home appliances and communication equipment increased by more than 10 percent year on year. Besides, consumers showed heightened enthusiasm for exquisite cultural and creative products with cultural connotations and regional characteristics, as well as trendy New Year goods.

Consumption of services increased, with dining, entertainment, and leisure spending significantly boosting service consumption. The demand for dining consumption was robust, especially traditional delicacies from time-honored brands and local specialty restaurants. There was a dramatic rise in the demand for services, such as beauty, hairdressing, nail care, and massage therapy.

Tourism saw a boom, with 500 million domestic trips taken, representing a year-on-year growth of 5.9 percent. Family travel accounted for 80 percent of the trips. The total spending of domestic travel during the festival was RMB 677 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of seven percent.

The “God of Wealth" presents New Year blessings to patrons in a restaurant in Nanjing, on January 28, 2025.

Tourism Consumption Diversifies

The diversification of tourism consumption is evident. The integration of travel, culture, and sports has deepened, highlighting the diverse characteristics of tourism consumption products. Culture, traditional customs, and ice and snow have become major attractions. An increasing number of people are traveling to other cities to watch a performance, a game, or a film.

Folk activities, such as temple fairs and lantern festivals, which combine entertainment with the theme of Spring Festival, also drew large crowds. Cultural experiences with regional characteristics, such as traditional handicraft making, wearing Han Chinese clothing, and exhibitions on Chinese culture, also attracted young consumers.

People's enthusiasm for intangible cultural heritage has significantly increased, with a substantial rise in experiential activities related to folk culture and handicraft skills. Over 90 percent of domestic travel products incorporated various folk activities, such as participating in temple fairs in Beijing, watching lion dances in Guangdong, and experiencing traditional paper cutting and Xuan paper handicraft skills.

Ice and snow tourism also continues to thrive. China's ice and snow leisure tourism during the 2024-2025 ice and snow season saw 520 million participants, with tourism revenue expected to exceed RMB 630 billion.

Digital consumption is experiencing strong growth as well. China launched a month-long online shopping event for festive goods ahead of the Spring Festival. The event, initiated by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and organized under the aegis of several government departments and the China Consumers Association, ran from January 7 to February 5, integrating online and offline activities, and linking domestic and international markets, further invigorating the consumption market.

The logistics industry has been providing nonstop express service for e-commerce consumption. E-commerce platforms launched shopping festivals, while physical supermarkets set up themed areas to meet one-stop shopping needs. Special events launched by many Internet celebrities and the application of new technologies, such as virtual reality, also significantly promoted the sale of fresh produce, home appliances, and products inspired by Chinese culture.

According to MOFCOM data, as of January 24, over 400 supporting activities were organized nationwide around consumption drivers, such as dining, shopping, and cultural tourism, with online retail sales exceeding RMB 700 billion.

The enormous domestic market is the foundation of China's economic growth. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, China leads the world in both consumer goods and service markets. China’s GDP surpassed RMB 130 trillion for the first time in 2024, contributing approximately 30 percent to global economic growth. In 2024, the total retail sales of consumer goods were worth RMB 48.79 trillion, maintaining a leading position in the global market. China’s online retail sales amounted to RMB 15.5 trillion, making it the world’s largest online retail market for 12 consecutive years.

The Spring Festival travel boom, the largest scale of population movement globally, reflected the confidence and potential of China's economic development. The large-scale consumer group and purchasing power are a major force not only driving Chinese economic growth, but also promoting the global economic rebound.

The number of outbound tourists reached 14.36 million, a 6.3-percent increase compared to the same period last year. The visits covered over 2,100 overseas cities, a 50-percent increase from the previous year.

Consumption Upgrades

Consumption upgrading is a driving force for sustainable economic growth. The main consumption characteristics during the Spring Festival showed that the pace of consumption upgrading among the Chinese is accelerating, with significant trend changes in consumption levels, forms, quality, behaviors, and methods. Developmental and enjoyment-oriented consumption are becoming prominent, with a noticeable increase in residents' demand for health, and green and intelligent consumer goods and services.

High-quality and upgraded products are selling like hot cakes in the market, while intelligent, green, big-brand, and high-quality goods are welcomed by consumers. Smart home appliances have emerged as a new growth point in the home appliance consumption sector, and home decorations are becoming increasingly intelligent and environmentally friendly. Safe, green, and organic agricultural products have become the basic necessities for both urban and rural residents.

China’s per capita GDP surpassed US $1,000 in 2003, and its consumption structure has begun to upgrade, characterized mainly by housing and transportation consumption. In 2017, the Engel coefficient in China dropped to 30 percent, indicating that after meeting basic needs and achieving a moderately prosperous standard of living, residents have entered a new development period. The proportion of consumption demand for tourism, education, entertainment, and healthcare has significantly increased.

By 2024, China’s per capita GDP was US $13,450, with the proportion of service consumption at 46.1 percent, indicating that service consumption is currently the fastest-growing, most popular, and with the biggest potential in consumption.

Traditional culture fans wear ancient clothing to record a New Year greetings video at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing, on December 26, 2024.

Sci-Tech Reshaping Competition

The level of technological development reflects a country's comprehensive national strength and core competitiveness. The advancement of modern science and technology is reshaping the global competition pattern and the balance of national power. Innovation has become the primary driving force for development, leading China’s new normal in economic growth. In 2024, China’s ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organizations annual global innovation index list rose to the 11th place.

The “technology empowerment” of consumption during this Spring Festival continued to rise, indicating that China's demographic dividend is giving way to innovation dividend. Currently, AI technology is breaking through the traditional consumption growth bottleneck, with the introduction of new models, new businesses, and new products of immersive consumption, experience consumption, digital consumption, and health management.

The low-altitude economy has opened multiple drone delivery routes, and some county markets have achieved 95 percent next-day delivery coverage for fresh produce. National online retail sales reached RMB 15.52 trillion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 7.2 percent, with online retail sales of physical goods accounting for 26.8 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. It is expected that China’s digital economy will contribute over 60 percent to the country’s GDP growth by 2025.

From the characteristics and highlights of consumption during this Spring Festival, the vigorous pulse of the Chinese economy, its vitality, and driving forces can be felt, enhancing confidence in the Chinese economy. In 2025, China’s economy will still face many difficulties and challenges, and the prospects for the world economic recovery still remain uncertain. This makes it particularly important to expand domestic demand.

The Central Economic Work Conference in 2024 vowed to vigorously boost consumption, improve investment efficiency, and expand domestic demand on all fronts next year. It is necessary to make efforts in both directions, optimize the income distribution structure, enhance income growth expectations, and expand effective demand.

Besides, it is necessary to stimulate the innovation vitality and investment enthusiasm of various market players, take the trend of people’s consumption upgrading as a guide, and meet people’s new needs for a better life as the starting point. To do this, supply should be effectively increased, especially making up for the shortcomings of supply in the service sector.

It should be ensured that people eat healthily and live safely in an environmentally friendly way. It’s expected that the level of consumption will be upgraded, its potential released, and its role in driving economic growth enhanced.  

CHEN XINNIAN is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.