STORY: Holiday consumption boom mirrors Chinese economy's vitality, potential
DATELINE: Oct. 6, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:23
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of tourists
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese) SHEN YILIANG, Official with Yanguan Scenic Spot in Haining, Zhejiang
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese) LYU SHU, Visitor
4. various of tourists
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ZHANG NA, Restaurant owner at Wudadao area in Tianjin
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WEI YIJI, Restaurant owner at Wudadao area in Tianjin

STORYLINE:

Chinese residents' fervor for travel and leisure over the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday has reflected the country's strong consumption demand.
   
From top domestic destinations, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Hangzhou, to cities in the northwest like Urumqi in Xinjiang, known for their scenic autumn landscapes, resorts across the country were flooded by visitors during the holiday.

Latest data show that more than 52 million trips were made by rail, highway, water, and civil aviation every day during the eight-day holiday period, posting a year-on-year increase of more than 50 percent.

The booming tourism has driven the high demand for flights and train tickets, hotel rooms, catering, and retail sales.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese) SHEN YILIANG, Official with Yanguan Scenic Spot in Haining, Zhejiang
"The 19th Asian Games is being held in Hangzhou. Asiad officials and athletes can have free access to the scenic spot. Visitors with tickets for Asian Games can also enjoy discount tickets."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese) LYU SHU, Visitor
"Jingmai Mountain has just been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is my first time to visit here. It's a very pleasant and relaxing place to visit."

The National Day holiday, dubbed "golden week" by the Chinese, normally runs for seven days, but this year, it was linked with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and extended to eight days, lasting from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. A longer holiday fuels people's enthusiasm to travel and enables them to engage in various leisure activities.

Those who do not travel far during the holiday are not idle at home. They went to cinemas, pushing the national box office to exceed 2.5 billion yuan. E-commerce platforms, coffee chains, and supermarkets are luring them with attractive discounts and coupons, further boosting consumption.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ZHANG NA, Restaurant owner at Wudadao area in Tianjin
"During the National Day holiday, the restaurant is always packed, and we can barely see empty seats. With such a high customer flow, we no longer take a break in the afternoons, in order to meet our customers' demands."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): WEI YIJI, Restaurant owner at Wudadao area in Tianjin
"The spending power of tourists is very strong, and the customer flow has been good."

According to the online platform Meituan, the average daily spending on service retail sales soared 153 percent compared with the same period in 2019, making this year's "golden week" the hottest one in the past five years.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)