The city of Yinchuan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has launched a major winter consumption campaign since Saturday to stimulate retail, dining, entertainment, and sports through creative retail models with great-value vouchers.
Inside a city shopping mall, a new model featuring shopping, dining, and immersive performances has been introduced, attracting large crowds. The mall also launches a plan that allows consumers to stack merchant-specific subsidies on top of government-issued city consumption vouchers.
Beyond traditional retail, Yinchuan is leveraging sports to create a consumption scene by partnering with renowned sports brands, popular restaurants, and professional family institutions. More consumers can win more vouchers by participating in activities, including watching fun sports matches and completing physical challenges.
"I brought my child out to this shopping mall today. And we just happened to come across this event. My child was very happy to take part. The discount with the consumption vouchers is quite large, making it very affordable [when buying things]," said He Hua, a Yinchuan resident.
According to local authorities, the winter consumption season in Yinchuan will feature 113 promotional events, totaling 140 million yuan (about 19.2 million U.S. dollars) in consumption vouchers.
By adopting a highly multi-element model, Yinchuan aims to turn winter consumption into a powerful engine for urban economic development, driving growth across the retail, dining, and entertainment sectors.
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Innovative retail fuels winter spending with great-value vouchers in Ningxia
Shanghai is improving its business environment starting from the neighborhood level to ensure the precision of the city management.
This footpath along the Suzhou Creek is a popular spot for leisure and exercise in the city.
Many visitors of the Fotografiska Museum like to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the outdoor vibe. But in fact, putting chairs outdoors is not a simple matter for the store itself.
When this gallery opened in 2023, it wanted to set up an outdoor seating area.
"We are located by the road and along the creek, so there are many joggers, sports enthusiasts, and tourists passing by. We need to consider how to balance our operations with the flow of people through the area,” said Crystal Cao, guest experience manager of the gallery.
The problem was quickly solved with the help of a "business environment specialist" in the neighborhood.
In Shanghai's North Station neighborhood, 12 specialists each oversee 30 to 40 local companies, ensuring that their requests are addressed promptly.
"My job is to communicate with enterprises and know their needs. If they have requests, we help solve them," said Sun Danyan, a business environment specialist of Shanghai North Station Neighborhood.
The gallery shared its plans with the specialist, who then reported them to the neighborhood office. The office coordinates with district-level departments, such as landscaping and city appearance bureaus, to design the outdoor area.
Without such specialists, companies, especially smaller ones, would have to navigate multiple departments on their own, which can be challenging.
"Small companies often have limited access to resources and information. They need our neighborhood office to provide support and help them access the resources they require," said Sang Zhenxiao, office director of Shanghai North Station Neighborhood.
Private enterprises account for more than 90 percent of Shanghai's businesses and are a key pillar of the city's economy.
Xu Jiao, deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission in Shanghai's Jing'an District, said the business environment is designed to support not only large or foreign firms, but also small local companies.
"The neighborhood is the closest to the companies and the last kilometer in the business environment. So, we use the ‘neighborhood serving as whistle blower to urge departments to report for duty’ to make our job more efficient. Any problems companies meet can be reported to the higher level via this mechanism," he said.
On the first workday of 2026, Shanghai launched its ninth version of the action plan to accelerate the development of a world-class business environment. The plan prioritizes government service efficiency as its first chapter.
Building a world-class business environment is also highlighted in the recommendation for China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), signaling a clear commitment to supporting enterprises, especially small and private companies.
Shanghai improves business environment starting from neighborhood level
