During the Spring Festival holiday, the streets of Lhasa were adorned with lanterns and decorations. Major malls and shopping centers were bustling with crowds, with smart home appliances, new energy vehicles, and other products selling well. There was also a strong demand for movie tickets, hotel and homestay bookings, and food purchases...

During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, Xizang's consumer market is full of vitality. Data from the Department of Commerce of Xizang Autonomous Region shows that from January 28 to February 4, the cumulative sales of 35 commercial and trade enterprises under key monitoring reached 38.5917 million yuan, an increase of 7.79% year-on-year. There is strong consumer demand in key areas such as catering, retail and tourism, and consumption continues to heat up.

At the exhibition and sales fair held at Gakyiling Plaza Shopping Mall in Lhasa, a variety of specialty products from Nepal, Russia and Thailand, and other countries, as well as traditional handicrafts and agricultural products from Xizang, were on display. Citizen Padma Dekyi said, "I came here especially to purchase imported snacks and also want to buy some Tibetan-style accessories."

The lively shopping scene is backed by strong support from both passenger and cargo flows. During the Spring Festival, the passenger transport volume of Xizang's civil aviation reached 136,197 people, and the cargo and mail throughput amounted to 304.3 tons.

Photo shows consumers experiencing and buying smart phones at a Huawei store in Lhasa, January 28, 2025. [Photo/Xu Kun]

"There's a promotion now where you get 1000 yuan off for every 5000 yuan spent. I'm taking advantage of the holiday to get a new phone." Said Cao Kang, a resident who arrived early to queue up in front of a Huawei store in Lhasa. During the holiday, Xizang held digital, automobile, home appliances and other promotional activities, bringing a wave of consumption.

"During the Spring Festival, the store is packed with customers, and sales increase three to four times than usual. Sometimes, sales can reach more than 1 million yuan in a single day. Consumers are willing to buy high-end smartphones." Said Xu Kun, the person in charge of the Huawei store.

Experts analyze that the continuous growth of residents' income has driven consumption upgrading. In 2024, the per capita disposable income of Xizang's residents reached 31,358 yuan, an increase of 8.2% year-on-year. Residents' consumption concepts have gradually upgraded, and consumption areas have continued to expand into leisure tourism, sports and fitness, and so on.

Photo shows consumers buying cultural and creative products in a shopping mall in Lhasa, January 28, 2025. [Photo/Jiang Mengchen]

At the intangible cultural heritage and cultural and creative products exhibition held in a shopping mall in Lhasa, special products such as woodblock printing and rubbing, clothing and Tibetan incense attracted many citizens and tourists to experience.

More and more tourists are choosing to spend the Spring Festival in Xizang. According to data from the region’s culture and tourism department, during the Spring Festival holiday, Xizang received a total of 2.3812 million domestic and international tourists, an increase of 16.56% year-on-year, with total tourism expenditure reaching 1.945 billion yuan, an increase of 13.68% year-on-year. Statistics from Ctrip, a Chinese online travel agency, shows that the main source cities for tourists visiting Xizang during the Spring Festival holiday are Shanghai, Chengdu, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Whether it is the dazzling array of New Year's goods, or the buzzing crowd, the consumer market in Xizang is lively and bustling, showing the economic vitality and the atmosphere of daily life.

Reporter: Jiang Mengchen

Translator: Zhi Xinghua

Review: Drakpa Wangchen