China’s cultural, tourism sectors see robust growth in Q1

China's cultural and tourism sectors kicked off 2025 with a strong start, driven by a vibrant market and sustained growth.

This spring, the cultural performance market across China has witnessed a surge in both supply and demand. The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) enjoyed a successful opening to the year, surpassing 100 million yuan (about 14 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales during the first quarter - reaching that milestone nearly two months earlier than in 2024.

In addition, the NCPA has introduced an innovative "second venue" model, where performances at its main theater are broadcast live across the country. By leveraging ultra-high-definition and virtual reality technologies, the performances are streamed to over 100 theaters and cinemas nationwide, allowing audiences to enjoy top-tier, national-level productions right in their local venues.

"The lighting and sound effects truly enhanced my immersion in the performance, giving me a fantastic viewing experience," said Xu Jingqi, a viewer from south China's Hainan Province.

According to statistics, the total box office for live performances in China reached 2.336 billion yuan (about 321 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, marking a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Additionally, the film industry saw a remarkable surge, with the total box office hitting 24.4 billion yuan (about 3.4 billion U.S. dollars), a 48 percent year-on-year growth, setting a historical high and ranking first globally.

Initiatives such as "Travel with Movies" and "China Film Consumption Year" have effectively turned the cinematic boom into a catalyst for tourism, fueling ongoing growth in cultural and tourism consumption.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the total revenue for cultural and related industrial enterprises above the designated size in the first quarter of this year reached 3.3939 trillion yuan (about 467 billion U.S. dollars), up 6.2 percent from the previous year.

Furthermore, the 16 industry categories with obvious characteristics of new cultural business formats achieved a business revenue of 1.4846 trillion yuan (about 204 billion U.S. dollars), a 12.5 percent year-on-year increase, highlighting the rapid rise of these new business models as a major growth driver in the cultural sector.

China’s cultural, tourism sectors see robust growth in Q1

Yiwu, the eastern Chinese city known as "the world's supermarket," achieved a record foreign trade value of 173.56 billion yuan (25.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of 2026, a significant 52.8 percent increase over the same period of the previous year.

In the two-month period, the growth rates of both imports and exports of the city exceeded 50 percent.

In the January-February period, Yiwu's global trade partnerships expanded to include 222 other countries and regions, adding nine more compared to the same period of last year.

Africa became Yiwu's largest trade market during the period, with trade to the continent rising by 84.7 percent year on year, accounting for 20.4 percent of the city's total foreign trade value.

Among the major trading partners, Yiwu experienced the fastest import and export growth with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which surged by 99 percent year on year. Additionally, Yiwu's imports from and exports to Latin America and the EU grew by 34 percent and 64.6 percent year on year, respectively.

In the first two months of 2026, the city's trade with other countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative totaled 124.43 billion yuan (18 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 59.5 percent year on year, accounting for over 70 percent of Yiwu's total foreign trade value for the same period.

China's Yiwu sees 52.8 percent year-on-year increase in trade in January-February