China’s cultural consumption 'lights up' the night economy

As COVID-19 wanes in China, cinemas, bookstores, bars, sports centers and other public cultural spaces in various cities have been reopened, launching various activities. The glowing night economy "lights up" the cities' evening sky again.

During the epidemic, normal prevention and control measures, such as home quarantine, have curbed people's offline consumption activities, whereas online shopping and online movie watching have become the normal life consumption.

According to statistics, retail sales of consumer goods in Beijing in the first six months of this year totaled 597.3 billion yuan (about $ 86.5 billion), down 16.3 percent year-on-year. As the epidemic wanes, residents' restrained enthusiasm for consumption has begun to release, and the night economy has become an important engine to accelerate the recovery of consumption, stimulating urban vitality.

Cities across the country have launched projects such as "scenic spot night tours" and "cultural night markets," which organically integrates local culture, themed landscapes, performing arts, entertainment, catering and other forms of business, highlighting the cultural elements of the night economy.

The economic forms at night are rich and diverse, and the urban space can be both lively and noisy, as well as quiet and indifferent. The "late night study" of Sanlian Taofen Bookstore is open 24 hours a day in Beijing; named Page One, the bookstore has become a cultural landmark of the city during the evening; 45 museums in Shanghai have opened night shows and 35 bookstores have held evening reading meetings, enriching the forms of the night economy while meeting the diversified spiritual needs of the people.

Culture is constantly integrated into the urban night economy, constituting its core element. The "Night Tour to Jinjiang" project in Chengdu of Southwest China's Sichuan province integrates the local culture into the night economic form; "ice and snow world" in Harbin of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province attracts tourists from all over the country with a variety of lights and shapes.

While the "Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-bright City" night excursion project in Xi'an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province is also favored by tourists, the "Night Touring of Qinhuai" project in Nanjing in East China’s Jiangsu province has become a name card for local night tourism.