BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Consumer spending across China is holding steady midway through the seven-day National Day holiday, with early data pointing to stable growth that reflects the economy's underlying vitality.
In the first three days of the holiday from Oct. 1 to 3, foot traffic and revenue at 78 major shopping streets and commercial districts monitored by the Ministry of Commerce rose 3.4 percent and 5.3 percent year on year, respectively.
Notably, the government's consumer goods trade-in program drove 19.63 billion yuan (about 2.91 billion U.S. dollars) in sales over the same period, benefiting 3.48 million consumers.
In breakdown, the program drove trade-ins of 46,000 vehicles, generating 7.45 billion yuan in new car sales, along with 1.51 million home appliances worth 6.5 billion yuan and 1.71 million digital and smart devices worth 4.9 billion yuan.
The National Day holiday has long been one of China's peak periods for travel, tourism and spending. Authorities had projected 2.13 billion cross-regional passenger trips in total over the seven days, averaging 300 million a day.
Previous data have suggested demand remains strong as railway passenger trips on Oct. 1 alone reached 25.2 million, a single-day record.
To meet surging demand, China has added train services on busy routes and waived highway tolls for private cars during the holiday.
Moreover, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a month-long national tourism promotion campaign in late September.
Local governments are hosting more than 20,000 events spanning scenic trips, autumn outings, red tourism, study tours, night activities and local food to boost diverse premium tourism offerings, while also handing out some 310 million yuan in consumer vouchers and subsidies over the month as a way to spur tourism consumption. ■
