During the 8-day holiday of the Lunar New Year, which is China's largest festival, it has been reported that a total of 2.3 billion people traveled. The number of Chinese traveling abroad increased, and box office revenues for films nearly reached 2 trillion won, marking the highest ever. In response to sluggish domestic demand, Chinese authorities have instructed all regions and departments to "create more consumption scenarios" to sustain the effects of the Lunar New Year.
According to the China National Railway Group, the daily passenger transport volume on the railways reached 17.04 million on the 4th, setting a record for the highest during the Lunar New Year period. The previous day, the 3rd, saw 16.45 million, also a record, which was surpassed in just one day. As a result, the total transport volume of China's railways during the holiday period (Jan. 28 to Feb. 4) was reported at 96.26 million. The Ministry of Transport has reported that the total number of travelers moving between regions during this period exceeded 2.3 billion, compared to 2.293 billion in the previous year's Lunar New Year holiday.
The travel market also showed satisfactory results. The largest travel platform in China, Ctrip, stated that overseas travel orders during this Lunar New Year period increased by 30% compared to the previous year. In particular, orders for overseas airline tickets and hotels increased by 180% and 60%, respectively. The inflow of foreign tourists also rose, with Shanghai being a prime example, as it welcomed 17.78 million tourists during the holiday. The Big Data Research Institute of the consumer market reported that expenditures by visitors to Shanghai from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 increased by 28% compared to a year earlier.
Zhou Huijie, an analyst at the Ctrip Research Institute, noted, "Chinese people spend the Lunar New Year abroad, and foreigners come to China to celebrate the Lunar New Year," adding that "Chinese and foreign tourists traveled back and forth during this Lunar New Year." Domestic travel is also on the rise. According to Chunqiu Travel, the number of people who booked domestic travel during the Lunar New Year period increased by 30% on their platform.
The film market, which indicates the spending surge during the Lunar New Year, also showed strong performance. According to the National Film Administration of China, on this day, the box office revenue during the Lunar New Year holiday reached 9.51 billion yuan (about 1.9 trillion won), the highest ever. Compared to the same period last year (8.016 billion yuan), this reflects an increase of nearly 19%. The number of moviegoers also set a new record at 187 million. Chinese media reported that "the film market has made a vigorous "good start" in 2025," highlighting the robust resilience and growth potential of China's film market.
In addition, the home appliance market has shown signs of vitality. Suning.com, a Chinese home appliance retailer, reported that the number of customers in stores nationwide during the Lunar New Year period increased by 80% compared to the previous year, and the number of orders for "iguhuanxin" increased by 92% over the same period last year. "Iguhuanxin" is a policy implemented by the Chinese government since last year, where consumers receive subsidies when they return old appliances and digital products for purchase subsidies. According to the Ministry of Commerce, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1, 14.704 million consumers applied for subsidies for 18.867 million mobile phones and other digital products.
However, it is difficult to diagnose that this consumption increase indicates a recovery in domestic demand, as it is merely the effect of the Lunar New Year. Consequently, there are voices within China calling for a sustained increase in consumption that began with the Lunar New Year. On this day, the state-run People's Daily prominently featured an article titled, "Expanding domestic demand in all directions" on its front page. It included directives from President Xi Jinping stating, "We must actively expand domestic demand" and "we must create more consumption scenarios and continuously unleash spending and investment potential."
The People's Daily emphasized, "All regions and departments must thoroughly implement the important speech spirit of President Xi, execute the long-term strategy for expanding domestic demand, and leverage the potential of domestic demand as a major driving force for economic growth and stability, in order to promote sustainable economic recovery."