People enjoy leisure time at Yuerong Park in the Xiong’an New Area, north China’s Hebei Province, March 19, 2025. Since China announced plans to establish the Xiong’an New Area in April 2017, it has evolved from a blueprint into a vibrant city. Over 200 community service centers have been established in newly built areas of Xiong’an, creating a "15-minute life circle" that meets residents’ basic needs for shopping and leisure. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)
As temperatures across large swaths of China surge above 30 翨0C, a trend of "cool consumption" is taking shape, with some online travel platforms launching summer vacation packages and local governments rolling out tens of millions of yuan in subsidies to boost domestic spending.
"Now, temperatures rise across China, demand for nearby getaways and water-based activities is growing. With few long holidays in the coming months aside from the Dragon Boat Festival, we’ve doubled our offerings of short-haul weekend trips, including one-day and overnight packages," Qian Daizhe, head of domestic vacation products at online travel agency Tongcheng Travel, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Amid a northern heat wave, Tongcheng Travel reported a surge in searches for keywords such as "cooling off," "beach," and "weekend."
"Beijing residents are flocking to Beidaihe beaches to escape the heat, Shenyang locals favor seafood and beer, while those in Harbin are heading to Jingpo Lake to cool down," another Tongcheng official said.
Shenzhen in South China’s Guangdong Province announced its 2025 summer consumption season from June through August, featuring more than 500 events that integrate dining, accommodation, travel, shopping, and entertainment, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported. Notably, the campaign extends beyond domestic consumers to include cross-border spending.
By leveraging policies such as 240-hour visa-free transit and instant tax refunds for overseas travelers, the city will host duty-free shopping festivals and culture-tourism integrated events, further solidifying its position as a global consumption hub, according to the newspaper.
On May 15, East China’s Jiangsu Province announced plans to host more than 1,500 consumer events this year. The campaign will distribute more than 450 million yuan in consumer vouchers and 17 million yuan in digital yuan envelopes, drawing participation from 35,000 enterprises. The initiative aims to create a closed-loop consumption model, assisted by government subsidies, corporate discounts, and digital empowerment.
Experts noted that local governments play a crucial role in creating new consumption scenarios and tapping into seasonal spending potential. The seasonal campaigns are increasingly viewed as effective instruments for stimulating domestic consumption.
On May 28, Harbin in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province rolled out its automotive promotion campaign, offering 48 million yuan in car purchase subsidies, according to local media chinahlj.cn. The campaign is open to individual buyers nationwide, with no regional restrictions.
Purchases of new passenger vehicles with seven seats or fewer that meet National VI emission standards, including new-energy vehicles, are eligible for government subsidies. The subsidies total 3,000 yuan for vehicles priced at or below 150,000 yuan, 4,000 yuan for those between 150,000 and 300,000 yuan, and 5,000 yuan for vehicles priced above 300,000 yuan.
Due to external trade and economic uncertainties that cannot be resolved in the short term, a good number of businesses remain cautious about investment and expansion, weighing on employment and business activity, said Bian Yongzu, executive deputy editor-in-chief of Modernization of Management magazine.
In this context, government-led consumption initiatives can help revive market vitality by creating a closed-loop cycle, driving sales, stimulating spending, and increasing tax revenues 鈥 ultimately guiding the economy onto a path of "virtuous circle of growth", Bian said.
Through policy innovation, local governments play a pivotal role in bridging consumer demand and business supply, Bian said. He said that tools such as consumption vouchers and tax reductions have proven effective in stimulating household spending. These initiatives have yielded tangible results, delivering real benefits to consumers and driving up retail sales.
"These moves help accelerate cash flow, boost tax revenues and foster a virtuous cycle that benefits households, enterprises and governments alike," Bian said.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0528/c90000-20320793.html