China’s consumer market maintained stable and orderly operation with sufficient supplies and stable prices of daily necessities as the October 1-7 National Day holiday season passed its halfway point.
According to big data from the Ministry of Commerce, the 78 closely monitored pedestrian streets and business districts across the country registered a 3.4 percent year-on-year growth in passenger flow and a 5.3 percent increase in business turnover during the first three days of the holiday.
In the period, consumer goods trade-in initiatives have driven total sales of 19.63 billion yuan (2.93 billion U.S. dollars), benefiting 3.483 million people.
Specifically, 46,000 vehicles were sold under the program, driving 7.45 billion yuan (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) in new car sales in the first three days of the holiday season. A total of 1.511 million home appliances were replaced, generating 6.5 billion yuan (969 million U.S. dollars) in sales, and 1.709 million new digital and smart products were purchased, contributing 4.9 billion yuan (730.8 million U.S. dollars) to total sales on October 1-3.
The ministry said that in the first four days of the holiday, 200 major national wholesale markets for agricultural and sideline products maintained ample inventory, with prices of grain, oil, pork, beef, mutton and fruits basically unchanged from pre-holiday levels, and with prices of vegetables, chicken and eggs dropping by 0.5 percent, 0.5 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
China’s consumer market stable, robust during National Day holiday
As the week-long National Day holiday enters its fifth day on Monday, many travelers across China are heading home, prompting transport authorities to ramp up services for a safe and orderly return.
Rail networks are projected to handle 21.05 million passenger trips on Monday alone, with over 1,400 additional trains scheduled to keep pace with demand. To manage heavy passenger influxes and overlapping arrivals, stations in multiple cities have opened extra exit gates, established close coordination mechanisms with local transport departments, increased bus scheduling frequencies and extended operating hours into the night. Several hubs have rolled out integrated travel services, linking high-speed rail, buses, and tourist attractions to facilitate transfers. Highways are also beginning to see increasing return traffic, with heavy congestion concentrated on routes into major cities and key inter-provincial corridors. According to the Ministry of Transport, more than 30 expressway sections nationwide are expected to see significant jams on Monday. In response, local traffic authorities have stepped up monitoring of road networks, issued timely congestion alerts and alternative route guidance, and encouraged travelers to stagger their departures.
Waterways are expected to handle 1.48 million passenger trips on Monday, up 14.8 percent year on year. To ease long queues and ticket difficulties for island trips, the Ningbo Terminal in east China’s Zhejiang Province is offering online reservations for private cars heading to destinations in Zhoushan across the sea. Travelers can book a sailing half a day in advance, with separate passenger and vehicle channels and free shuttle buses in place to ensure a smoother experience.
The National Day holiday, widely known as the Golden Week, runs from October 1 to 7 this year. It is one of China’s busiest travel and tourism seasons, typically triggering massive nationwide movements as hundreds of millions of people travel for family reunions or leisure.
China braces for return travel peak as National Day holiday nears end
