Feb. 26, 2007 (China Knowledge) – The retail sales of consumer good in China hit RMB 220 billion during the week-long Lunar New Year, up 15% year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Sales in the catering industry surged 18% compared to the last year’s Lunar New Year holiday. Among it, growth in Heilongjiang Province, Henan Province and Beijing increased 25%, 22% and 20% respectively. Around 95% of the restaurants in Beijing received reservations for family dinners during the holiday.

In addition, sales of household high-end electronic products and digital products were hot in major cities. Sales of flat screen TV sets, including liquid crystal display (LCD) sets and plasma screen sets, accounted for 90% of the total sales of color TV sets in Beijing, while the sales of high-end mobile phones soared 40 % in GOME retail stores in Chongqing.

The Chinese government launched the Golden Week holidays in 1999 with the aim of encouraging people to spend more money to spur economic growth. Currently, China has three Golden Week holidays every year, including the Lunar New Year holiday, Labor Day holiday and National Day holiday.