China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached a record 7.77 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first three quarters of 2025, according to data released by the National Energy Administration on Thursday.
This figure rose 4.6 percent year-on-year, with the quarterly gains of 2.5 percent, 4.9 percent, and 6.1 percent indicating accelerating growth.
In the third quarter, power consumption by the country's secondary industries increased by 5.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 51 percent of the overall growth. The high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors have been experiencing rapid expansion, with their power usage surging by 9.5 percent year-over-year in the first nine months.
Stimulated by China's consumption promotion initiatives, power consumption in the service industries in the third quarter also reported an increase of 8.3 percent compared to last year, with power usage for the internet and related services surging by 33.8 percent, and for the battery charging and swapping sector rising by 49.6 percent.
China's power use hits record 7.77 trillion kWh in first 9 months of 2025
With the May Day holiday coinciding with spring breaks in various regions, China's railway tourism market is heating up earlier than usual, as passenger-friendly measures are rolled out to boost cultural and tourism consumption.
"My family booked this trip for me. I'm just happy to travel with my husband," said a passenger.
In time for the May Day holiday, a new batch of branded tourist trains will be launched to cater to diverse passenger needs. China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) is also rolling out discount policies on tourist special trains as part of broader efforts to revitalize cultural tourism spending.
Meanwhile, accommodation along tourist train routes has begun offering coupon-based discounts.
According to data, the number of tourist trains operating nationwide in the first quarter increased by 440 compared to the same period last year. Moving forward, the integration of railway and tourism will continue to deepen.
"We plan to operate over 2,500 tourist trains this year and develop 50 premium railway tourist routes, so as to continuously energize the railway tourism market and foster new growth drivers in railway-backed consumer services," said Zhang Tao, deputy marketing director of the Passenger Transport Center of China Railway.
China rolls out passenger-friendly railway services ahead of May Day travel rush
