|
CHINA> National
![]() |
|
Festival shopping spree despite downturn
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-26 09:30 BEIJING -- Many Chinese received a smaller bonus this year because of the global financial crisis and decided to tighten their belts, but they still let their hair down for the traditional Spring Festival.
The freezing weather and slowdown in economic growth did not affect Chinese people's festivities, with supermarkets and shopping malls crowded with shoppers seeking goods for the Spring Festival celebration.
Milk powder products of domestic brands have reappeared on the shelves, a Xinhua reporter found in Wal-Mart at Xuanwumen, Beijing. "This is the safest period for dairy products as the government has intensified quality supervision and inspection after the scandal," said saleswoman Qiao Xinhong. Many Chinese people like to buy boxed milk or yogurt for family reunions or as gifts to friends and relatives during the holiday. Dairy products, however, were only one part of people's shopping list, and snacks with wider varieties, clothes, jewellery and home appliances were also popular. The week-long Spring Festival holiday, which starts from Sunday, is China's closest equivalent to the West's Christmas shopping season. According to the Ministry of Commerce, sales at the country's major retailers on Thursday were 2.4 times as much as that on December 31. China's real retail sales growth in December accelerated 0.8 percentage points from November to 17.4 percent, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Thursday. Retail sales jumped by 21.6 percent last year to 10.8 trillion yuan (US$1.6 trillion), which was 4.8 percentage points higher than 2007. |
平陆县| 金门县| 漳州市| 扬中市| 万全县| 灵台县| 柳江县| 柳林县| 靖州| 桑植县| 大连市| 绥江县| 鄂州市| 太仓市| 罗甸县| 太仆寺旗| 葵青区| 恩施市| 南开区| 灵宝市| 巩留县| 阜宁县| 什邡市| 偏关县| 济宁市| 阜康市| 奈曼旗| 寻乌县| 仁化县| 碌曲县| 昌黎县| 漳平市| 自贡市| 武山县| 呼和浩特市| 辽宁省| 高密市| 梅州市| 崇左市| 成都市| 云安县|