Harbin Ice and Snow World in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province received nearly 200,000 tourists during the holiday, while Hangzhou's West Lake Scenic Area in east China's Zhejiang Province saw the number of tourists hit 400,000 on January 31, the first day of the Year of the Horse, an increase of 14 percent year on year.

Aside from this, cinemas, museums and expositions also made part of people's holiday schedule.

During the holiday overall, cinema admissions reached 38.8 million and box office revenue hit 1.41 billion yuan ($232.51 million), both of which set a record high and increased 60 percent and 70 percent year on year, respectively. Two domestically produced movies—The Monkey King in 3D and Where Are We Going, Dad?—both released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, contributed 75 percent of total box office revenue.

Temple fairs held in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, attracted 3 million tourists during the holiday, while the temple fair at Beijing's Ditan Park received 1.14 million tourists who were greeted with special snacks of a distinctly Beijing flavor as well as folk-custom and cultural exhibitions.

Engine for growth

Holiday consumption has taken on an inspiring look, which mirrors the current status of China's consumer market, stable and healthy.

Fueled by consumption expansion policies, the total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 23.4 trillion yuan ($3.86 trillion) in 2013, an increase of 13.1 percent year on year, with a contribution rate of 50 percent to overall economic growth.

Fang Aiqing, Vice Minister of Commerce, predicted that the consumer market would continue to expand stably in 2014, with the total retail sales of consumer goods growing by roughly 13 percent.

Zhao Ping, a research fellow with the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, held that though the 13.1-percent growth rate was slightly slower than previous years, it was a satisfactory achievement. In 2013, consumption took a robust turn in product sectors like furniture, architectural ornaments, automobiles and home appliances, and e-commerce also experienced rapid growth.

Chen Shaoqiang, a research fellow with the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance, insisted that the 50-percent contribution rate didn't necessarily mean the domestic consumption ability was strong enough to shore up economic growth, for the proportionate rise in contribution from domestic consumption is also attributable to a slowdown in the exports and investment markets.

The MOFCOM will take a number of measures this year. It will encourage the integration of online and offline stores, and develop chain-store operations and logistics through information technology. It plans to promote the service industry in resident community and rural areas for the convenience of the people. It will also attempt to strengthen market supervision to standardize market order; create consumption hot spots by intensifying information supply as well as making efforts to initiate environment-friendly and low-carbon consumption.

"In 2014, investment should be reduced to alleviate local government debts, and a long-term mechanism should be put in place to expand the role of consumption in China's future economic development," said Chen.

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