As the 2025 Spring Festival approaches, Chinese consumers are flocking to markets to purchase aquatic products and meat in preparation for the festive feasts, driving up sales ahead of a holiday that is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and tradition.
Located in eastern China's Fujian Province, the Fujian Strait Aquatic Products Trading Center in Fuzhou, the largest spot market for aquatic products in Southeast Asia, is witnessing a surge in trading volumes starting on New Year's Day, with trading activity expected to reach its peak ahead of the festival.
Covering an area of over 300,000 square meters, the center primarily serves as a wholesale market, with its sales network spanning across the entire country.
According to the market's manager, before Jan 1, approximately 3,000 trucks delivered products daily. In the past two days, the number has risen to 3,500 trucks, and it is expected to reach 7,000 trucks in the days leading up to the festival.
In Jinhua City in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, the beef and mutton market has also entered its peak season, with a significant rise in sales of both products at wholesale markets and fresh supermarkets.
"I bought a lamb chop to make mutton hot pot, which is good for health during this cold winter," said a customer.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan 29 this year and the Spring Festival holiday will last until Feb 4. It is China's most important festival and an occasion for family reunion.
Sales of aquatic products, meat surge ahead of Spring Festival
The Pinglu Canal, a major new waterway in south China, has successfully concluded its first trial navigation for passenger vessels, marking another step forward its official opening in September.
Measuring 32 meters long and 5.4 meters wide with a certified capacity of 100 passengers, the test vessel docked smoothly at an integrated service area in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at midday on Monday, marking the successful completion of the inaugural passenger service trial along the canal. According to the local maritime authorities, the trial was conducted without passengers on board and served as a comprehensive first-phase evaluation of the canal's navigability for passenger ships, the operational efficiency of its lock system, and the service capabilities of its waterside support facilities.
Monday's successful trail navigation came less than two weeks after the canal officially launched vessel trials on Aug 12, paving the way for future commercial passenger services on the waterway.
"Based on the entire navigation process this time, the channel dimensions of the Pinglu Canal, the operational efficiency of its locks, and the support capabilities of the waterside service areas all met the navigational requirements for tourist passenger vessels," said He Changhai, a law enforcement officer from the Qinzhou Maritime Safety Administration.
Designed to accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tons, the 134.2-km Pinglu Canal is China's first major river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949.
Stretching from the Pingtang River in Guangxi's Hengzhou City to the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, the canal is the backbone of the country's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which has evolved into a strategic route linking China's inland regions with countries of the Association of Souchteast Asian Nations and other global markets.
The corridor's rail service handled a record 1.425 million 20-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2025, up 47.6 percent year on year. As of early July 2026, its network has reached 593 ports in 128 countries and regions.
China's major river-to-sea canal completes first passenger vessel trial run ahead of official opening
