Xiamen draws holiday crowds with culture-fueled shopping push
A stretch of Zhongshan Road became a bobing playground. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]
Xiamen hosted about 100 consumer events over the Mid-Autumn holiday, pairing Minnan (southern Fujian) folk traditions with shopping, tourism, and entertainment to energize the local market.
The push was coordinated by the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, along with businesses, industry groups, and banks.
Retailers monitored by the city recorded sales of 112.84 million yuan ($16.83 million), up 35.5 percent year-on-year.
A highlight was bobing, a traditional Moon Festival dice game native to southern Fujian. A stretch of Zhongshan Road became a bobing playground every evening from Sept 24 to 27, while shopping districts citywide hosted group games, family contests, and online versions.
The holiday also saw the debut of several new commercial venues, including Fujian's first K11 Select art mall and the SM Phase IV CHAO BLOCK. Both venues featured debut stores, pop-up exhibitions, and themed streets.
Beyond shopping, the program focused on immersive experiences. A beer festival, a harbor night concert, and interactive games gave visitors reasons to stay out after dark, while major malls added art installations and trend-driven pop-up spaces.
Each of Xiamen's districts took a tailored approach, combining government subsidies, platform discounts and merchant offers to encourage spending throughout the break.
Why Xiamen
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Xiamen is one of the most economically competitive cities in China and was one of the first Special Economic Zones on the Chinese mainland. As a vice-provincial city independently listed on the State development plan, it has provincial-level authority in economic administration and local legislative power. In 2010, the Xiamen SEZ was expanded to cover the entire municipality. Today, Xiamen is a modern and international port city.