China's consumer market got off to a robust start during the first two days of the Spring Festival holiday, with strong demand for green, smart, and health-related products driving sales, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.
The Spring Festival falls on Tuesday this year, with the official holiday season lasting nine days from Feb 15 to 23.
Commerce big data showed that daily sales at key retail and catering enterprises during the first two days of the holiday increased by 10.6 percent compared with the first two days of the 2025 Spring Festival holiday.
On Sunday, the first day of the holiday, foot traffic and revenue at 78 key monitored commercial pedestrian streets and business districts rose by 23.2 percent and 33.2 percent, respectively, year on year.
Trade-in programs continued to fuel consumer demand. As of Monday, 27.55 million consumer transactions had benefited from 2026 trade-in initiatives, generating 193.09 billion yuan in sales. Among them, 607,000 vehicles were traded in, contributing 99.56 billion yuan in new car sales.
Demand for green, smart, and health-conscious products remained strong. According to commerce big data, sales of smart wearable devices on major platforms surged by 130 percent on Sunday, while smart blood pressure and glucose monitors saw sales jump by more than 60 percent. Sales of organic food increased by 52 percent.
Service consumption also saw significant growth. On Sunday, bookings for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner on major platforms soared by 80.7 percent, while hotel accommodation transactions grew by 32.7 percent. Car rental orders rose by 54 percent. Spending on ice-and-snow tourism more than doubled, while warm-escape travel consumption increased by 68 percent.
China sees strong consumption surge in first two days of Spring Festival holiday
The 2026 China Media Group (CMG)'s Spring Festival Gala, which aired from Monday night to Tuesday in celebration of the Chinese New Year, offered a joyous audiovisual feast to audiences both at home and abroad, setting new records in viewership.
As of 08:00 on Tuesday, the gala's total media reach in China soared to 23.063 billion views, a 37.3-percent increase compared to the previous year. The live broadcast captured a remarkable 79.29 percent share of the national television market, achieving a 13-year high. During the gala time, the average number of viewers (or listeners) online simultaneously reached 325 million, with peak viewership exceeding 400 million.
The gala's viewership on Chinese new media platforms reached new heights this year. The total number of direct-on-demand views skyrocketed to 16.207 billion, a 49 percent year-on-year increase. Among these, CMG's own app recorded a total playback volume of 770 million, up 2.7 percent year on year. Live broadcast playback reached 605 million times, an increase of 60.05 million compared to last year. The accessible version of the gala accumulated a direct-on-demand playback volume of 28.3366 million on CMG's channels and apps, representing an impressive 144 percent year-on-year increase.
The gala's online popularity continued to climb, with nearly 2,000 topics trending. As of 13:00 on Tuesday, the total reading volume for topics related to the 2026 gala reached 27.12 billion. Major platforms experienced a surge in trending discussions, listing a total of 1,939 topics. Among the viewers across all media channels for the gala, young users accounted for a growing share of 41.82 percent, an increase of 1.35 percentage points from the previous year. Mentions of programs related to new quality productive forces also rose, with content about AI and humanoid robots making up 20.99 percent, reflecting a remarkable 5.4-fold increase. Meanwhile, CMG reported the gala globally through 85 foreign language platforms. CGTN's (China Global Television Network) related reports reached a global readership of 2.309 billion, while video views totaled 843 million, representing increases of 32.85 percent and 43.61 percent, respectively, compared to last year. The CMG coordinated with nearly 4,000 media outlets worldwide to provide simultaneous broadcasts and coverage of the gala, marking a 37.95 percent increase. A total of 4,062 public screens across 140 cities from 98 countries livestreamed and promoted the event, with the number of countries and screens rising by 12.6 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, compared to last year.
2026 Spring Festival Gala achieves record-breaking viewership, global reach
