THE Spring Festival holiday has become not only a time for family gatherings and cultural activities, but also a boom time for businesses across the globe.

Consumption

During the 2018 Spring Festival holiday, Chinese spent 926 billion yuan (US$146 billion) on shopping and eating domestically, up 10.2 percent from last year’s holiday, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed last Wednesday.

Consumption in culture and entertainment was also strong, with China’s box office raking in a new record of 4.6 billion yuan from Feb. 16 to 20, up nearly 60 percent from a year earlier. On the first day of the Spring Festival, the box office was at 1.3 billion yuan, breaking the global single-day record in a single market.

Technology has also reshaped festival time consumption habits. Data from online retailers JD.com and Suning.com showed laptops, AR/VR equipment as well as drones have become new favorite gifts, with their sales doubling or even tripling during the holiday. Previously, food and new clothes were the token items for welcoming in the Chinese New Year.

The number of tourists during the holiday topped 386 million across the country, up 12.1 percent, according to the National Tourism Administration. Total tourism revenue also rose 12.6 percent to 475 billion yuan, it showed. Hot spring resorts and winter sports have enjoyed increasing popularity this year.

Traditions

Returning to hometowns remains the most important part of the Spring Festival. The National Development and Reform Commission estimated that about 2.98 billion trips would be made during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush between Feb. 1 and March 12.

Temple fairs have also been a popular choice for commemorating traditional customs during the Spring Festival. In Beijing, the Ditan and Longtan temple fairs attracted more than 1.7 million tourists over a span of five days.

Lion and dragon dances as well as ceremonies welcoming the God of Wealth were also held in most parts of China during the festival. For Chinese families, hanging new red couplets and the Chinese character “fu” on their doors is an important way to usher in a prosperous and happy new year.

Global celebrations

More than 400 cities in over 130 countries and regions have joined the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2018, the State Council Information Office said.

“The festival carries rich connotations of Chinese culture such as family values, societal harmony and amicability. These are shared by people across the globe,” said Zhang Quanlin, a sociologist. (Xinhua)