New Year’s Holiday in China

HANGZHOU — Amid the vibrant beat of drums, and dragon and lion dances, Yiwu China Commodity City, also known as the “world’s supermarket” in East China’s Zhejiang province, welcomed the start of a new business year on Feb 21 following the Spring Festival break. Merchants from around the world watched the performances with great interest. Among them was Bijoy George, an Indian businessman with two decades of experience in Yiwu, who eagerly captured the lively scenes on his phone. George, who runs a trading company in Yiwu specializing in tools and household items, expressed optimism for business prospects in the coming year. “Yiwu is full of opportunities for trade cooperation. Last year, I bought 200 containers of goods in Yiwu,…

HANGZHOU: Amid the vibrant beat of drums, and dragon and lion dances, Yiwu China Commodity City, also known as the “world’s supermarket” in East China’s Zhejiang province, welcomed the start of a new business year on Feb 21 following the Spring Festival break. Merchants from around the world watched the performances with great interest. Among them was Bijoy George, an Indian businessman who has spent two decades in Yiwu, who eagerly captured the lively scenes on his phone. George, who runs a trading company in Yiwu specialising in tools and household items, expressed optimism for business prospects in the coming year. “Yiwu is full of opportunities for trade cooperation. Last year, I bought 200 containers of goods in Yiwu, and…

BEIJING, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Temperatures broke a 64-year-old record in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, plunging to a bone-chilling minus 52.3 degrees Celsius (minus 63.4 degrees Farenheit) amid a cold spell and traffic disruptions following the Lunar New Year holiday. Several parts of China are battling another deep freeze as people return from week-long celebrations of the year’s biggest holiday. Just before it started, blizzards and icy rain had stranded travellers on railways and roads. State media said Sunday’s milestone in the Tuerhong township of Fuyun county was the lowest since records began in Xinjiang, surpassing a temperature of minus 51.5 C (minus 60.7 F) set on Jan. 21, 1960. The figure was just shy of the lowest…

BEIJING: Temperatures broke a 64-year-old record in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, plunging to a bone-chilling minus 52.3°C amid a cold spell and traffic disruptions following the Lunar New Year holiday. Several parts of China are battling another deep freeze as people return from week-long celebrations of the year’s biggest holiday. Just before it started, blizzards and icy rain had stranded travellers on railways and roads. State media said Sunday’s milestone in the Tuerhong township of Fuyun county was the lowest since records began in Xinjiang, surpassing a temperature of minus 51.5°C set on Jan 21, 1960. The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of minus 53°C in Mohe, a city in the northeastern province of…

BEIJING: Temperatures broke a 64-year-old record in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, plunging to a bone-chilling minus 52.3 degrees Celsius amid a cold spell and traffic disruptions following the Chinese New Year holiday. Several parts of China are battling another deep freeze as people return from week-long celebrations of the year’s biggest holiday. Just before it started, blizzards and icy rain had stranded travellers on railways and roads. State media said Sunday’s milestone in the Tuerhong township of Fuyun county was the lowest since records began in Xinjiang, surpassing a temperature of minus 51.5 degrees Celsius set on Jan 21, 1960. The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of minus 53 degrees Celsius in Mohe, a…

BEIJING: Bathed in enchanting moonlight, sculptures of the Temple of Heaven and Notre Dame Cathedral are attracting tourists from home and abroad in a celebration of ice and snow in the northern reaches of China. Those brave enough to bear the frigid temperatures are participating in a cultural dialogue and exchange between China and France in the “ice city” of Harbin, Heilongjiang province. Hailing the scenery as remarkable, Lyazid Benhami, vice-president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, said he didn’t expect to see the Notre Dame Cathedral’s beauty in the form of an ice sculpture on social media. Tourism in Harbin is booming, bringing much-needed economic impetus to the region. More than three million visitors flocked to Harbin during…

BEIJING, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 20th Feb, 2024) During the just-concluded Spring Festival holiday, or the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, China witnessed a surge of people flow and bustling consumption activities across sectors. While observing traditions, people spent the traditional festival with new trends and fashions, from dining out on the Lunar New Year’s EVE to traveling and watching movies on big screen, among others, reflecting the vigor and potential of the Chinese market. As an important occasion for family reunions, the family feast on the Lunar New Year’s Eve is a crucial part of the Spring Festival celebrations. In recent years, however, instead of preparing meals at home like they used to, more people…

(Adnkronos) – HAIKOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 February 2024 – On 23rd February, the Hainan Free Trade Port, located in the south of China, officially launched the global selection of “Hainan Tourism and Cultural Excellence TOP10”. The initiative aims to showcase the excellence of Hainan’s tourism and share the story of China’s holiday paradise with a global audience. Hainan’s visa-free entry expanded to 59 countries at the beginning of this month. The policy has drawn global attention as it opens opportunities for business and trade, visit, family visit, medical care, conference and exhibition, and sports competition in addition to tourism. Launched by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports of Hainan Province, this initiative will…

BEIJING – China will see some 2.311 billion passenger trips during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush, transport authorities estimated on Saturday. About 2.184 billion trips, or 94.5 percent of the total, would be made on highways during the eight-day holiday ending Saturday, while the railway system would handle about 99.59 million trips. Waterway and civil aviation trips would stand at 9.4 million and 18.04 million, respectively, according to the estimation. The Chinese New Year holiday, which runs from Feb 10 to 17 this year, is a peak time when people travel for family reunions, or sightseeing and recreation. On Friday, about 308.46 million passenger trips were made nationwide, up 34 percent from a year ago, data shows. With the…

SHANGHAI: China’s New Year holiday spending last week surged past pre-pandemic levels, official figures showed, a rare bright spot for an economy struggling with sluggish consumption and deflation. Domestic spending on entertainment, dining and travel soared during this year’s “Golden Week”, which officially ended on Saturday, according to a statement from Beijing’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday (Feb 18). Chinese travellers made 474 million trips across the country during the eight-day break, up 19 per cent from 2019, the ministry said – the world’s largest annual migration. And domestic spending on tourism came in at 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.9 billion), up 7.7 per cent from 2019, the ministry said. This year’s new year holiday was the country’s second…

BEIJING, February 22 (TMTPOST) — China’s property market is injected with a strong boost as the five-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.95% from 4.20% on Tuesday, while the one-year LPR was left unchanged at 3.45%. Most new and outstanding consumer loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages and mid-and-long term corporate loans. Li Yujia, Chief Researcher at the Housing Policy Research Center of the Guangdong Provincial Planning and Design Institute, told TMTPost, “The reason for such a significant reduction lies in the fundamental weakness of the demand side in the property market and low probability for residents to increase their leverage for…

BEIJING – China will see some 2.311 billion passenger trips during this year’s Spring Festival holiday, transport authorities estimated on Saturday. About 2.184 billion trips, or 94.5 percent of the total, would be made on highways during the eight-day holiday ending Saturday, while the railway system would handle about 99.59 million trips. Waterway and civil aviation trips would stand at 9.4 million and 18.04 million, respectively, according to the estimation. The Chinese New Year holiday, which runs from Feb 10 to 17 this year, is a peak time when people travel for family reunions, or sightseeing and recreation. On Friday, about 308.46 million passenger trips were made nationwide, up 34 percent from a year ago, data shows. With the long…

China returns from its long holiday – estimates of strong domestic travel fanned optimism of a recovery in consumption. The US January CPI and PPI came in stronger than expected and this extended the recovery in US interest rates. In turn that helped underpin the dollar. We do not think the data itself changes the Fed’s stance. At least seven Fed officials speak in the coming days to test this hypothesis. There are still several key reports before the data dependent FOMC meets again in about four weeks. Owing to the different weights and methodology, the PCE deflator, which the Fed targets, is likely to be better behaved. Still, the two-year Treasury yield (US2Y) popped above 4.70% at the end…

BEIJING: Tourism revenues in China during the Lunar New Year holidays that ended on Saturday (Feb 17) surged by 47.3 percent year-on-year and surpassed 2019 levels, thanks to a domestic travel boom amid a longer than usual break, official data showed on Sunday. The data may offer temporary relief to policymakers as the world’s second largest economy has been facing deflationary risks amid weak consumer demand, but the sustainability of the tourism boost is uncertain and the tourism revenue per trip remained below the pre-pandemic level. During the holiday, known as the world’s largest annual migration, tourist attractions across the country witnessed massive crowds. Domestic tourism spending jumped by 47.3 percent to 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.96 billion) from the same…

BEIJING: Tourism revenues in China during the Chinese New Year holidays that ended on Saturday (Feb 17) surged by 47.3 percent year-on-year and surpassed 2019 levels, thanks to a domestic travel boom amid a longer than usual break, official data showed on Sunday. The data may offer temporary relief to policymakers as the world’s second largest economy has been facing deflationary risks amid weak consumer demand, but the sustainability of the tourism boost is uncertain and the tourism revenue per trip remained below the pre-pandemic level. During the holiday, known as the world’s largest annual migration, tourist attractions across the country witnessed massive crowds. Domestic tourism spending jumped by 47.3 percent to 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.96 billion) from the same…

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Shoppers visiting China’s island province of Hainan spent a record 2.49 billion yuan ($346.2 million) on duty-free goods over the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday, data from Haikou Customs showed. That represents a year-on-year rise of 60%, with the number of shoppers from Feb. 10-17 reaching more than 297,000, each spending an average of 8,358 yuan on duty-free goods. Since 2020, when China tripled duty-free purchase limits in the 12 duty-free malls in Hainan to 100,000 yuan, overall duty-free spending has also tripled from about $2 billion in 2019 to more than $6.1 billion in 2023. That growth is expected to continue as the entire island is set to become duty-free in 2025. Even a…

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Shoppers visiting China’s island province of Hainan spent a record 2.49 billion yuan ($346.2 million) on duty-free goods over the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday, data from Haikou Customs showed. That represents a year-on-year rise of 60%, with the number of shoppers from Feb. 10-17 reaching more than 297,000, each spending an average of 8,358 yuan on duty-free goods. Since 2020, when China tripled duty-free purchase limits in the 12 duty-free malls in Hainan to 100,000 yuan, overall duty-free spending has also tripled from about $2 billion in 2019 to more than $6.1 billion in 2023. That growth is expected to continue as the entire island is set to become duty-free in 2025. Even a…

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Shoppers visiting China’s island province of Hainan spent a record 2.49 billion yuan ($346.2 million) on duty-free goods over the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday, data from Haikou Customs showed. That represents a year-on-year rise of 60%, with the number of shoppers from Feb. 10-17 reaching more than 297,000, each spending an average of 8,358 yuan on duty-free goods. Since 2020, when China tripled duty-free purchase limits in the 12 duty-free malls in Hainan to 100,000 yuan, overall duty-free spending has also tripled from about $2 billion in 2019 to more than $6.1 billion in 2023. That growth is expected to continue as the entire island is set to become duty-free in 2025. Even a year after…

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 — China’s new year holiday spending last week surged past pre-pandemic levels, official figures showed, a rare bright spot for an economy struggling with sluggish consumption and deflation. Domestic spending on entertainment, dining and travel soared during this year’s “Golden Week”, which officially ended on Saturday, according to a statement from Beijing’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism yesterday. Chinese travellers made 474 million trips across the country during the eight-day break, up 19 per cent from 2019, the ministry said — the world’s largest annual migration. And domestic spending on tourism came in at 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.9 billion), up 7.7 per cent from 2019, the ministry said. This year’s new year holiday was the country’s second…

Beijing: Chinese travel and spending during the Lunar New Year holiday exceeded levels from before the pandemic, adding to signs that consumption in the world’s second-largest economy is improving. Some 474 million tourist trips were made around the country during the festival, which began Feb 10 and concluded Saturday. That’s up 19% from the comparable period in 2019, state broadcaster China Central Television reported, citing data from the Culture and Tourism Ministry. Total tourism spending for the holiday climbed nearly 8% from that year on a comparable basis, to 633 billion yuan. China’s economy is searching for momentum this year as activity is challenged by a property slump, weak confidence and persistent deflationary pressures. As the nation’s most important holiday,…