Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
Chinese New Year - statistics & facts
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is arguably the most important festival in China, very similar to the importance of Christmas to the western world. The festival celebrates the beginning of a year, based on the traditional lunisolar calendar. January 29th of 2025 marked the first day of the year of the Snake.
Traditional time for family reunion
Family reunion is the most important theme of the Chinese New Year. Each year, millions of migrant workers travel back to their hometowns to reunite with families, which constitutes the largest human migration in the world. The traveling back home for the celebration and the traveling back to work afterward is called “chunyun.” In recent years, however, there has been an emerging trend of “reverse chunyun”, where the parents of migrant workers travel from rural areas to cities to visit their children.Long holiday boosts tourism
Traditionally, the Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 16 days, spanning from New Year’s Eve until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunisolar month. During this period, people usually enjoy a consecutive 7-day holiday, including two relocated weekends. China’s tourism typically enjoys a skyrocketed growth for the long holiday. In February 2024, the number of local tourists reached new heights. Notably, the inscription of Spring Festival on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024 has strongly motivated tourists to experience intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, reinforcing the popularity of cultural tourism.Entertainment and shopping spree
Spring Festival is a golden season for the entertainment industry. During the Spring Festival in 2024, the box office in China grossed over eight billion yuan, a record high. The traditional customs of wearing new clothes and giving gifts during the festival also fuel sales growth in the consumer goods sector. With the growing popularity of China-chic, products bearing traditional Chinese elements are especially appealing during this shopping spree. In 2024, the most popular gift boxes were those with nuts, reflecting the rising health consciousness among Chinese people.
