The launch of island-wide special customs operations in South China's Hainan Province triggered a notable surge in tourism demand, though the peak season of the Spring Festival holiday is still more than a month away.
China on Dec 18 launched special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanded zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures.
So far, domestic flight bookings to Hainan for the Spring Festival holiday have exceeded 110,000 tickets, with some popular routes nearly sold out.
The accommodation market is also heating up, with homestay bookings in Sanya up 45 percent year on year. Special customs operations have become a key driver of market vitality.
"Since the implementation of special customs operations, the number of tourists from Shanghai to Hainan has shown a continuous upward trend. Popular destinations like the Wuzhizhou Island and Sanya Atlantis have become top attractions for travelers," said Wang Yiming, public relations director of Ctrip, a leading Chinese online travel agency.
The first Spring Festival duty-free market since the launch of special customs operations is recording dual peaks in both bookings and consumption.
Driven by the expanded offshore duty-free policy and visa-free entry for citizens of 86 countries, bookings for Hainan's duty-free-related travel products during the Spring Festival period had surged by more than 180 percent year on year as of Jan 8.
Duty-free shopping sales are expected to exceed 3.5 billion yuan (about 501.1 million U.S. dollars).
"Since the launch of special customs operations, the number of tourists visiting Hainan has increased by about 60 percent compared with the previous two months. We believe it has exceeded our expectations. People aged between 20 and 39 account for about half of the tourists visiting Hainan," said Zhou Weihong, vice general manager of travel agency Springtour.
Hainan sees booming tourism market following special customs operations launch
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
