Looking at vitality through the flavor of the New Year—"Three New" outlines China's Spring Festival consumption landscape

From the snow and ice festivals in the North to the lantern displays in the South, from the bustling city commercial districts to the fireworks at county fairs, the 2026 Year of the Horse Spring Festival, with its 9-day holiday window, unfolds a vibrant new spring scene. New settings, new trends, and new flows—these three keywords vividly depict China’s Spring Festival consumption landscape.

——New Scenes: Feeling the warmth of reunion through self-enjoyment experiences.

Spring Festival is a holiday for family reunions, but the meaning of reunion is constantly evolving. This year, the popularity of “traveling during the New Year” and “vacation-style celebrations” is rising.

In Lichuan Ancient City, Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, colorful lanterns adorn the streets and alleys, and family groups with elders and children are everywhere. The “Yun Shui Jian” homestay deep inside the ancient city, renovated from a century-old residence, was fully booked from New Year’s Eve to the seventh day of the lunar new year.

In the courtyard of the homestay, easels are lined up with oil paints, and the free oil painting experience activities offered during the Spring Festival are fully booked every session. Xu Shuo, a tourist from Shanghai, said, “In the past, New Year was just about visiting relatives and friends. This year, I traveled with my parents and children, and we completed a painting together, which is more meaningful than just sightseeing.”

During the Spring Festival, visitors experience oil painting creation in Lichuan Ancient City. (Photo by Qiu Shitong)

Meanwhile, more young people are choosing to pay for “emotional value.” In Changsha, young consumers are becoming the main force of Spring Festival spending. YF Mall in Tianxin District, with its unique “pan-second dimension” ecosystem positioning, has become a popular check-in spot for young consumers, with brands like Pop Mart experiencing a shopping boom during the holiday.

At the National Marine Museum in Tianjin, the “Future Ocean” exhibit hall, utilizing digital immersion and artificial intelligence technologies, has become a new “top trend”; in Anqing, Anhui Province, the Daobo Lion historical and cultural street is bustling with visitors, who enjoy tasting Song-style tea and NPC interactive shows—these are favorites among tourists. The integration of culture, sports, business, and tourism is accelerating, continuously activating new consumption momentum.

——New Trends: A subtle shift from buying physical goods to purchasing services.

“Spending money to buy time and quality” makes the Spring Festival shopping list more innovative. The popularity of various new services reflects an upgrade in consumer demand—people are willing to pay for convenience, for professionalism, and for peace of mind.

In Chongqing, private chef services that come to your home give families like Wang Yongxia’s in Jiulongpo District peace of mind: “Hiring a chef to prepare ten main dishes, including ingredients and service fees, costs less than 1,500 yuan, offering high cost performance.”

Deng Xiaolei, head of Yuxin Zhu Private Chef in Chongqing, explained that the team customizes menus based on customer tastes, purchases fresh ingredients on the day, and arrives on time to cook.

“Year-end deep cleaning” is also increasingly outsourced to professional housekeeping companies by young families. During the Spring Festival, orders for Chongqing Qingyue Meijia housekeeping’s “New Year Deep Cleaning Package” surged, with over 60% of customers aged 30 to 45.

On February 20, visitors explore the “Future Ocean” exhibit hall at the National Marine Museum. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

A pet hospital in Nankai District, Tianjin, had over 20 cages in three foster rooms fully booked before the Spring Festival. Staff said that with the rise of the pet economy, services like “foster care” and “door-to-door feeding” are gaining increasing recognition.

“China’s per capita GDP has approached $14,000. According to international experience, the consumer structure will accelerate toward service-led consumption,” said Liu Fang, a researcher at the Market and Price Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission. Fully tapping into the potential of service consumption not only better meets people’s pursuit of a better life but also is an important way to expand domestic demand in the future.

——New Flows: The Year of the Horse Spring Festival ignites “Chinese travel” and “Chinese shopping.”

From popular scenic spots to duty-free stores at departure, from mobile payments to multilingual signage, China is welcoming visitors with a more open attitude. The Chinese New Year is becoming a cultural feast shared worldwide.

During the first Spring Festival after the full island operation of Hainan Free Trade Port, walking through popular scenic spots like Dadonghai and Sanya Bay, foreign tourists are everywhere. Shops and road signs around the scenic areas feature multilingual signs in Chinese, English, and Russian.

“Group shopping and sightseeing by foreign tourists have become the norm on Haikou Qilou Old Street,” said Ling Hongwei, general manager of Haikou Qilou Old Street Investment and Development Co., Ltd.

According to Haikou Customs, from February 15 to 21, Hainan’s offshore duty-free shopping reached 2.07 billion yuan, with 254,000 shoppers.

On the first day of the Year of the Horse, China implemented visa-free policies for holders of ordinary passports from Canada and the UK, expanding the “friend circle” of visa-free countries to 50.

Relying on the expanding visa-free “friend circle,” Pudong Airport creates a festive atmosphere of “celebrating the New Year upon arrival in Shanghai.” Convenient payments and duty-free policies make the first stop for inbound tourism smoother.

Ms. Park from South Korea specifically traveled to Shanghai during the Year of the Horse Spring Festival for shopping and sightseeing. She completed the “instant buy, instant refund” duty-free process in less than 10 minutes. “The convenient policies and New Year discounts make shopping in China a great experience.”

Eleven departments have introduced policies to improve the digital services for inbound foreign visitors, further enhancing payment environments with bank cards, mobile payments, and cash. Over 13,000 duty-free stores are stocked with quality products. These tangible policy measures are attracting more overseas tourists to celebrate the New Year in China.

The National Immigration Administration predicts that during this Spring Festival holiday, the average daily entry and exit at ports nationwide will exceed 2.05 million travelers, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%.