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More than 61 million rail trips were made in the first six days of the national new year holiday, according to official reports. That was the highest in data compiled by Bloomberg News in the last five years, and it marked a 61% increase over the same vacation period in 2023. “The Chinese consumer is beginning to stir,” said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC Holdings Plc., adding that spending indicators had exceeded expectations. Some initial data on road and air trips during the holiday also showed improvement over last year, Chinese state media reported. Hotel sales on Chinese e-commerce platforms surged more than 60% from a year earlier, according to media reports citing the Ministry of Commerce. The average daily consumer spending on Meituan’s online platforms during the holiday period jumped some 36% from the same period last year, according to a report from the delivery giant. The report didn’t give the actual value of consumption, but said it exceeded pre-Covid levels in 2019. There was also strong growth from restaurant spending in the first five days of the Chinese New Year break, with overall order volume from groups rising by 161% from last year. Chinese shoppers also took their spending overseas during the long holiday week, with tourists from the country spending 70% more on food and beverages compared to 2019, according to data from fintech giant Ant Group. Among the top destinations for Chinese travelers were Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, France and Australia. The travel and spending bright spots have helped boost market sentiment in Hong Kong this week, where markets reopened Wednesday after a holiday break. A gauge tracking Chinese companies listed in the city has risen for two consecutive sessions, clocking a 2% gain through the end of trading Thursday. China Tourism Group Duty Free Co. has jumped about 9%, while travel platform Trip.com Group Ltd. added 4.7%. Meituan and e-commerce firm JD.com Inc have inched 6% higher.
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