BEIJING (Xinhua/Internews): As China wraps up its 8-day Spring Festival holiday celebrating the start of the Year of the Snake, the world’s second-largest economy has witnessed shopping and travel booms ignited by hundreds of millions of Chinese people’s family reunions.
This year’s holiday, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, marks the second consecutive year that people in China have experienced an extended public holiday. People flocked to tourist destinations, enjoyed cultural experiences and indulged in holiday shopping.
With a string of holiday-targeted domestic blockbusters bringing numerous moviegoers to cinemas across China, the country’s film industry proved to be one of the biggest winners during this Spring Festival consumption spree.
From Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, the daily box office exceeded 1 billion yuan (nearly 140 million U.S. dollars) for six consecutive days, bringing China’s box office revenue for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday to 8.02 billion yuan, a new record for the same period in the country’s film industry history.
Meanwhile, according to data from the China Film Administration, China’s total box office in 2025, including real-time presales, has surpassed 10 billion yuan, ranking it first globally.Notably, the films on the top of the box office chart were all domestic productions, with “Ne Zha 2,” the animated sequel to the 2019 hit, earning over 3.8 billion yuan.
“The historic high box office of the Spring Festival holiday reflects the high-quality development in domestic films and highlights the strong recognition of Chinese traditional culture among audiences,” said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.
While cinema boomed during the holiday, so did travel and leisure activities across China. Many chose to explore the country’s natural beauty and cultural heritage in person.In China’s top ski destination, Altay Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the period from Jan. 28 to 31 saw 191,900 visitors, generating 225 million yuan in tourism revenue.
Skiing has definitely become the most popular activity in Altay during the holiday, with a record number of skiers — over 10,000 — visiting the Jiangjunshan ski resort on Feb. 2, marking a 23 percent increase from the previous year.
Situated at 45 to 47 degrees north latitude, Altay enjoys 170 to 180 days of snowfall annually. In mountainous areas, snow depths average 1 to 2 meters. The terrain is ideal for skiing due to vertical drops of over 1,000 meters.
“The resort offers many terrain parks and creative features suitable for all levels, making it a great place for everyone to enjoy and challenge themselves,” said Zhang Zhujun, a snowboarding enthusiast at the resort.
Far to the south, the picturesque Yangshuo County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, draws large numbers of domestic and international visitors with its unique natural scenery and rich cultural activities. From Jan. 28 to 30, the county welcomed an estimated 410,600 tourists, generating tourism revenue of 589 million yuan.
Travel booking platforms echoed the overall trend, with data from Fliggy, a leading online travel agency, showing a surge in bookings, especially from cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. International travel orders increased significantly, with international cruise bookings up more than sixfold compared to the previous year.
Shanghai Airport Group reported that passenger traffic on Sunday hit a new all-time high of 404,000 people, with Pudong airport seeing 259,000 passengers and Hongqiao airport 145,000.
As the holiday drew to a close, airports and transportation hubs in Shanghai braced for the return of travelers, with heightened coordination of metro, bus and taxi services to ensure smooth transportation, said the group.
On Monday, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. reported a historic milestone as the country’s railways transported 16.45 million passengers, marking the highest single-day passenger traffic in the history of the Spring Festival travel rush.
On Tuesday, the last day of the holiday, the national railway system is expected to carry 16.9 million passengers, further highlighting the peak in travel activity as hundreds of millions of people return to their destinations after family reunions.
Consumption was another standout trend, with an increasing number of people seeking to experience China’s rich heritage, motivated by the inscription of the Spring Festival on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, sales at major retail and catering enterprises across China during the first four days of the holiday increased by 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
Meituan, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms for services, reported a staggering 300 percent year-on-year increase in online reservations for Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve dinners. Additionally, group-buying orders for “intangible cultural heritage”-themed packages have surged by over 12 times since January year on year, reflecting growing consumer interest in cultural experiences.
Experts noted that this holiday season saw a shift in consumer behavior, particularly among younger generations and families. “Young families are increasingly becoming the driving force of consumption, with a trend toward diversified, high-quality and culturally rich experiences,” said Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher from the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration.
Data from Meituan Travel echoed Sun’s observation that young people increasingly chose to celebrate the Spring Festival in smaller cities, immersing themselves in intangible cultural heritage and historical landmarks.
The increase in cultural tourism and consumption, from heritage experiences to blockbuster films, indicates a growing demand for traditional and contemporary cultural activities.
“This trend has also raised higher demands for the supply of cultural and tourism products and services, prompting the introduction of new business models and formats that better align with contemporary cultural consumption patterns,” said Sun, highlighting the potential of China’s consumer market and the economy’s internal driving forces.
China’s film industry set a new milestone during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, with box office revenue from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 reaching a record 5.75 billion yuan (about 802 million U.S. dollars), surpassing the previous high of 5.73 billion yuan set in 2021.
As of Feb. 2, box office revenue from the holiday had reached 7 billion yuan. The reading for the first six days of the holiday, driven mainly by popular domestic productions, is already nearing the record box office of 8.02 billion yuan set during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday.
Bringing the total box office revenue since the beginning of 2025 to 9 billion yuan, the figure has solidified China’s position as a global leader in box office revenue for 2025.
“The moviegoers’ enthusiasm indicates vibrant consumption during the holiday as well as the consumers’ confidence in domestic productions,” said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.
The Spring Festival, traditionally a peak and lucrative period for moviegoing, saw fierce competition among major releases. This year, the Spring Festival holiday was extended by one day to eight days, running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
Leading the pack was the animated fantasy “Ne Zha 2,” which earned over 3.1 billion yuan in just five days after it landed in movie theaters, according to data released by the box office tracker Beacon.
The sequel, trailing the success of the 2019 hit “Ne Zha,” which raked in a revenue of over 5 billion yuan, impressed audiences with its stunning visuals and engaging storyline, earning an 8.6 rating on Douban, a popular Chinese film review platform.
“‘Ne Zha 2’ has far surpassed ‘Ne Zha,’ delivering an immersive cinematic experience,” said Liu Wenzhang, producer of the “Ne Zha” series and CEO of Chengdu Coco Cartoon Co., Ltd.
Reflecting rich Chinese cultural heritage, the film saw broad appeal, with over 32 percent of viewers opting for group screenings, often bringing along their relatives and children.
Trailing behind was “Detective Chinatown 1900,” a detective thriller that raked in 1.8 billion yuan, securing second place. Part of the successful Detective Chinatown franchise, the film continued to draw fans with its intricate plot and engaging performances.
Third place went to “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force,” which grossed 894 million yuan. The film added to the trend of multiple strong performers during this year’s holiday season, highlighting a diverse and robust lineup.
