May Day holiday reflects vitality of China's economy

The Chinese economy's robust vigor and resilience have been showcased with a flowing population, booming consumption and busy construction in the past five-day May Day holiday, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Bustling China demonstrates a positive economic outlook

People travel into an uninhabited area in Karamay city, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, May 2, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

During the past May Day holiday, China has witnessed a booming domestic and overseas travel season, reflecting a positive signal for the country's economic development.

China saw a total of 295 million tourism trips nationwide in this period, up 7.6 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on May 6.

Domestic tourists spent a total of 166.89 billion yuan ($23.12 billion) during this May Day holiday, a 12.7 percent increase year-on-year, the data showed.

China saw over 1.3 billion cross-region trips, with an average of 271.69 million trips per day, up 2.1 percent year-on-year, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Transportation.

In the same period, the China-Laos Railway handled about 380,000 passenger trips, with the occupancy rate of cross-border seats reaching about 80 percent.

Data from travel platform Fliggy shows that outbound tourism is recovering rapidly, with growth rates approaching double that of last year's substantial rebound. Independent travel has become the mainstream mode of outbound tourism, accounting for over 80 percent.

Staff members sort crayfish at the China Crayfish Trading Center in Qianjiang city, Central China's Hubei province, April 30, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

During the holiday, China saw people enjoying their travels and goods flowing smoothly as well.

In the week before the May Day holiday, the volume of crayfish transported to Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu province, Zhejiang province, and other places increased by 7.5 times year-on-year, according to the freight big data of Full Truck Alliances.

The volume of beef transported to Henan, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces increased by over 50 percent, and the shipment volume of waxberries from Jingzhou Miao and Dong autonomous county in Hunan province increased by 1.5 times year-on-year, the data showed.

An article published on the South China Morning Post website stated that China's tourism sector posted robust growth over the Labor Day holiday – making a strong contribution to the country's efforts to keep up economic momentum.

Holiday economy sparks new vitality in consumer market

A staff member prepares coffee at the 2024 Shanghai International Coffee Culture Festival in Shanghai on May 1, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

During the May Day holiday, a park in Chengdu, Sichuan province, opened up outdoor spaces and a well-designed sky runway, creating a fusion consumption theme of "music + beer + food".

Strolling through markets, watching sports games, enjoying life—during the holiday, this place became a gathering spot for young people's trendy and fashionable lifestyles.

Tourists buy local popular spicy dishes at the Huaiyuan night market in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region on May 4, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

"Flavor tours" have become a popular choice for holidaymakers, driving the hot consumption of catering businesses nationwide.

Data from online service platform Meituan shows that, in the first three days of the holiday, the volume of dine-in orders across the country increased by over 73 percent compared to the same period last year.

Chengdu, Hangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai ranked among the top five cities for dine-in orders by out-of-town tourists.

Visitors select creative plant bookmarks in Fuzhou, Fujian province on May 2, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Furthermore, the popularity of guochao– "National tide" or "China chic", a consumption trend wherein younger consumers prefer products with Chinese cultural elements – and trendy entertainment continues to rise.

People experienced traditional back massages, ceramic painting, and cuju games (the Chinese origin of football) in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

People also enjoyed leisurely moments in the aroma of coffee and experienced thrilling adventures in sound-and-light escape rooms in Shanghai.

Tourists pose for photos on Central Avenue in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province on May 2, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

During the May Day holiday, demand for out-of-town trips increased by 99 percent compared to the previous period, while demand for taxi services in leisure and entertainment scenes increased by 76 percent, and demand for taxi services at tourist attractions increased by 220 percent, according to online car-hailing company Didi Chuxing.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, sales of key retail and catering enterprises nationwide increased by 6.8 percent during the May Day holiday compared to the same period last year (April 29 to May 3).

Data from the China Film Administration showed that China's box office reached 1.53 billion yuan during the May Day holiday period, with 37.77 million moviegoers.

In the first three days of the May Day holiday, local life service consumption nationwide increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Meituan data.

"The growth rate of consumer spending was higher than the number of travelers during this year's May Day holiday. This means not only are there more people traveling, but they are also spending more, indicating a continued positive trend in the overall market," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

Prosperous production and construction activities

A staff member sorts products at a fiberglass company in Zibo city, Shandong province, on May 1, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Many workers kept on working at their posts during this May Day holiday.

Construction of green chemical projects is in full swing in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Efforts to advance the transformation of chemical industries are in full swing in Jilin province.