China holiday consumption: long trips boom, trade-in subsidies lift store sales

Xinhua and China News Service published reports on China's consumption market during the National Day holiday under the same headline theme of busy travel, rich experiences and brisk store sales. The China News Service text carried Xinhua's reporting from Beijing, citing travellers, market researchers and Ministry of Commerce data on trade-in subsidy programmes. [ 1 , 2 ]

Travel demand centred on long trips. Because the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays were separated by only three working days, a “take three days off, rest thirteen” leave plan became popular, Xinhua reported. Qunar data showed bookings on routes of more than 2,000 kilometres rose more than 40 per cent year on year. Chen Liteng, a digital-life analyst at the 100EC e-commerce research centre, said the plan moved tourism spending from “concentrated bursts” toward “phased release”. A traveller surnamed Chen from Hunan described a seven-day self-driving trip through Liaoning, taking in Shenyang, Dalian and the border route in Dandong. [ 2 ]

Small cities and counties also drew crowds. As of October 4, the ten most popular scenic spots were all in smaller cities, led by Hetou Old Street in Tangshan, Hebei, Shapotou in Zhongwei, Ningxia, and Gexiancun resort in Shangrao, Jiangxi, according to Qunar. In Tianjin, the Jinjie commercial district averaged about 600,000 visits a day, Xinhua reported, as the Tianjin People's Art Theatre staged an immersive version of Cao Yu's play “Sunrise” on the street. Qunar said searches on the first holiday day for tickets tagged immersive performance, fireworks or night tours rose more than 50 per cent year on year. [ 2 ]

In Chongqing, a drone light show drew visitors to the Nanbin Road area, where a hotpot restaurant manager, Zhang Tao, said his 40 tables each turned over at least three times a night at peak. Other draws included an intangible-heritage market and Wu opera in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and a rural community converted from old village buildings in Daxin, Guangxi. Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar's big-data institute, said content-driven formats were popular and “experience-plus” businesses could lift markets in non-traditional destinations. [ 2 ]

Policy measures supported spending. A fourth batch of 62.5 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds for consumer goods trade-in programmes was released before the holiday, Xinhua reported; in Tianjin, digital product subsidies reached 500 yuan and appliance subsidies up to 1,500 yuan. A Tianjin resident surnamed Wang said state subsidies plus store discounts saved him more than 1,000 yuan on a refrigerator. Tianjin districts issued more than 80 million yuan in government consumption vouchers, and Liaoning let people with event or exhibition ticket stubs claim vouchers at 25,000 merchants across the province. The 2026 Nanjing auto show ran from September 30 to October 4 with trade-in, purchase and financing offers organised by Jiangsu's commerce department; one consumer said combined discounts came to nearly 10,000 yuan. [ 2 ]

Ministry of Commerce data showed that from October 1 to 3, trade-in programmes drove 19.63 billion yuan in sales and benefited 3.483 million person-times. That included 46,000 vehicles and 7.45 billion yuan in new car sales, 1.511 million home appliances and 6.5 billion yuan in sales, and 1.709 million digital and smart products and 4.9 billion yuan in sales. [ 2 ]