BEIJING: Travellers thronged railway stations and airports on Friday, clutching large suitcases and gifts such as boxes of fruit as they joined millions of Chinese returning to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival with family.
The holiday, China’s biggest, this year falls between Jan. 28-Feb. 4 and marks the arrival of the Year of the Snake.
The festivities usually give a boost to businesses such as shops, cinemas and restaurants as families enjoy time together feasting and shopping.
Authorities are especially keen for people to open their wallets this year to boost the sluggish economy and have increased the official holiday period from seven days to eight, in keeping with last year.
Official efforts to revive weak consumption also include promoting winter-themed holiday destinations and ensuring affordable airfares throughout the country, authorities said on Friday at a State Council press conference in Beijing.
More broadly, the government has been trying to boost the economy with an aggressive raft of stimulus measures including interest rate cuts, raising basic pensions and widening trade-in programmes for consumer goods.
But businesses and travellers told Reuters they were seeing signs that people were continuing to tighten their belts in the face of a prolonged property slump and worries about job security.
A Beijing-based sales professional named Liu, who was at a railway station in the Chinese capital preparing to return to his hometown in the northeast, said concerns about the economy and employment were widespread.
He preferred not to share his full name because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“It’s become even more difficult to earn money and find a job. There are many more unemployed people, and they all say it is more difficult,” he said.
Qiang, a hairdresser working in central Beijing who wanted to be known only by his nickname, said that while people were still getting their hair cut for the holiday, they were being more selective about other services.
