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A view of Lujiazui in Shanghai on January 27, 2025 Photo: VCG

China's retail market during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday was exceptionally vibrant. From the boom in ice and snow related tourism, record-breaking box office revenues, to the surge in home appliance trade-ins, the bustling consumption has reflected Chinese people's relentless pursuit of a better life, while helping boost global economic recovery. 

What is noteworthy is the cyclical logic behind this consumption boom, which will likely stimulate the supply-side driving forces of the Chinese economy.

After more than four decades of reform and opening-up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China which placed a strong emphasis on poverty alleviation, China has fundamentally addressed the basic needs of 1.4 billion people in food, clothing, housing and more.

This remarkable accomplishment has captured global attention. It also marks a great evolution in the country's domestic consumer market: the essential demands for daily necessities have largely been fulfilled, and Chinese people now crave for higher-quality goods and services.

During this year's Spring Festival, the extension of the home appliance trade-in policy spurred rapid growth in endurable items. Data from Suning.com showed that during the holiday, foot traffic in shopping streets nationwide surged by 80 percent year-on-year, while trade-in purchases soared by 92 percent. Increasingly, Chinese consumers are shifting from a focus on affordability to pursuit of high quality, with their consumption structure continuously optimizing.

Cultural consumption also took center stage during the festival, with traditional cultural experiences like intangible heritage activities and watching films gaining traction. 

China's e-commerce platform Meituan's search volume for "intangible cultural heritage" surged by 212 percent year-on-year, with nearly 40 percent of those searches coming from individuals born after 2000. Their recognition of and passion for traditional culture are not only driving the flourishing of the cultural industry but also injecting fresh vitality into the consumer market.

To meet the evolving domestic consumer demand, supply-side structural reforms are crucial. China's 5,000-year civilization serves as a robust foundation, empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs to create and innovate. 

Xu Weihong Photo: Courtesy of Xu Weihong

From global hits like the game Black Myth: Wukongto the Ne Zhafilm series, Unitree robots, and DeepSeek, "post-80s" entrepreneurs have been instrumental in driving innovation. 

The cyclical dynamics of China's cultural industry are traceable. For instance, the cultural market concept "goods economy," which originated in Japan, has evolved in China and given rise to a range of well-established business models and cultural intellectual property creations. These, while firmly grounded in China's long-lived civilization, also embody the distinctive aesthetic traits of the "5G" and "6G" era. 

The consumption trends of cultural and tourism products during the 2025 Spring Festival will encourage more investors to adapt to the new generation of creators and innovators.

Tourism also boomed during the long holiday. On Tuesday, data from online travel platform Trip.com showed cross-border travel orders during the holiday increased by more than 30 percent year-on-year, with inbound travel ticket orders up by 180 percent.

Many foreign tourists were visiting China. Initially drawn to the country's historical sites, natural landscapes and cuisines, many choose to return to experience what foreign media have described as a "strange parallel universe" -- spotless urban environments, round-the-clock public safety, well-organized social operations and cutting-edge infrastructure like high-speed railways. 

Undoubtedly, China's unique allure will help dispel the malicious smears by some Western media outlets. As Chinese and US users continue to talk on social platforms like Xiaohongshu or Red Note, 2025 is expected to witness a further surge in international tourist arrivals in China.

From consumption upgrades to the integration of culture and tourism, and the rising popularity of "Chinese New Year," every highlight of Spring Festival consumption has showcased the vitality and resilience of Chinese economy. In this dynamic consumer market, we will continue to witness the diversified development of the country's economy and its abundant innovative spirit. 

The author is chief economist at the China Academy of Invention Achievement Transformation [email protected]