Tourists visit the SanfangQixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys), a scenic spot in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 21, 2018. According to statistics from the provincial tourism department, more than 22.66 million tourists visited Fujian Province during the past week-long Chinese Spring Festival holiday, which brought a total tourism revenue of 17.224 billion yuan (about 2.715 billion US dollars). (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Shops and restaurants across China reported robust sales during the week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Wednesday.
Sales in the retail and catering sectors reached 926 billion yuan (about 146 billion U.S. dollars) during the week, up 10.2 percent from last year's holiday, the MOC said in a statement.
Sales of traditional festival-related goods, green food, jewelry, apparel, household appliances and digital products maintained rapid growth.
Major green food producers in Jiangxi, Qinghai and Shandong provinces saw double-digit sales growth, while major jewelry stores in Shaanxi and Guizhou provinces reported sales increases of 43 percent and 30.6 percent, respectively, compared with last year's holiday.
Dog-themed accessories were most favored by consumers as this year is the Year of Dog in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac.
In the catering market, family dinners on the lunar New Year's Eve were almost fully booked at some famous restaurants, while it became a fashion for restaurants to work with online platforms to offer delivered dinners or home cooking services.
Consumption in culture and entertainment was also strong, with China's box office raking in 4.6 billion yuan from Feb. 16, when the Lunar New Year arrived, to Feb. 20, up nearly 60 percent from a year earlier.
The Chinese Lunar New Year is traditionally a time for family gatherings in China. This year's holiday runs from Feb. 15 to Feb. 21.
