Published on: 2026-04-14
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –
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In 2026, during the “two sessions” of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), “consumption” became a key term mentioned 33 times in the “Report on the Work of the Government.” The report set the task of implementing measures to improve the quality and convenience of consumer services and creating new consumption scenarios. The General Office of the State Council of the PRC also published a program in which emotional and empirical services were identified as priority directions for development.
Consumption is transitioning from “purchasing goods” to “purchasing experiences.” In the thematic amusement park “City Usya” in the city of Kaifen, Henan Province, realistic scenes from the Song Dynasty era (960-1279 AD) have been recreated, where over 1,500 characters interact with tourists. In 2025, the park was visited by 24.52 million people, and the revenue reached 1.27 billion yuan (14.16 billion rubles), which is 136.5% more compared to the same period of the previous year. The industrial park of snail noodles “Losifen” in the city of Liuzhou, Guangxi-Zhuang Autonomous Region, has become an example of successful integration of industry and experiences.Tourists can visit production lines, prepare seasonings on their own, and try authentic dishes. In 2025, the park welcomed about 280,000 tourists, and tourism revenue reached 13 million yuan. At the fair dedicated to the Spring Festival at the Lufu Temple in Beijing, up to 2,000 packs of leba were sold per day, and the daily visitor flow reached 100,000 people. In Guangzhou, the share of consumer spending on services exceeded the share of spending on goods for the first time, reaching 58.3%. The “new trio” stimulating consumption became flagship stores, performances, and cruises on the Pearl River in Guangzhou.
Gu Liyan, deputy director of the Institute of Economic Research under the State Committee for Development and Reform, stated that at the core of the economy of impressions lies the readiness of consumers to pay for the “unique process and recollection.” The process shifts from purchasing things to purchasing feelings, and consumers become active participants in creating value. Wan Zhe, professor at Beijing Normal University, noted that innovations in scenarios should be based on people’s needs, deeply study local cultural characteristics, and avoid uniformity in the appearance of cities.
The Ministry of Finance and three other agencies included cultural entertainment, tourism, sports, and eight other sectors in the list of industries eligible for subsidized loan interest rates. The Chancellery of the State Council developed a program of 12 political measures in three directions, clearly supporting the development of emotional and empirical services. In the “Government Work Report” of 2026, empirical consumption was included among the important instruments for expanding domestic demand.Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli stated that it is necessary to develop specialized brands such as “travel following performances” and “travel following competitions”.
More than 70 new professions related to the experience economy have appeared on various platforms. The city of Zunyi in Guizhou Province, relying on the brand of the rural football super league “Cunqiao,” has deeply integrated football matches with national culture, which has led to the creation of nearly 9,000 new economic entities, and the GDP in 2024 exceeded 10 billion yuan. In Jiangsu Province, the “Suchao” league was created, which in 2025 attracted more than 2.43 million spectators, ensuring a multiplier effect of “1 yuan per ticket leads to 7.3 yuan of consumption in related industries.”Henan Province, following the trend of emotional consumption, has created famous IP projects by forming new scenarios, which supported the rapid growth of consumer services.
Wei Xian, a professor at the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that the experience economy has four main growth directions — the economy of wellness, the environmental economy, experiences for the elderly, and intellectual accompaniment, — which open up significant business opportunities.
Su Cizhun, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Financial Sciences, noted that creating high-quality impressions requires coordinated work of the “heart, hands, and brain”: precise capturing of emotions, ensuring supply chains, and using technologies to activate cultural IP. The “Digital Gugun Museum” project in Beijing has accumulated over 1 billion visits.In the ancient city of Gankeng in Shenzhen, II-technologies were used, immersing visitors in the atmosphere of the ancient city, while in Guilin, VR boat rides are being promoted, which contributes to the transition from informative tourism to experience-based tourism.
The city of Huangshan in Anhui province has transformed traditional folk customs, such as fish-shaped lantern parades, into regular empirical projects, creating a system of products that can be “tasted, taken away, and remembered.” Henan province has improved the rules for operating immersive consumer scenes, and Shanxi has created demonstration scenarios of the economy of impressions and supports exemplary enterprises. The Ministry of Finance and three other departments have strengthened financial support for industries such as public catering, healthcare, and elderly care.
Professor Zhang Yin of Fudan University stated that it is necessary to coordinate technological support, innovations in models, and institutional guarantees to create a value transformation chain of impressions, consumer value, and industrial value, develop unique brands, and better satisfy the high-quality needs of the population. The economy of impressions fundamentally changes innovation and the rethinking of traditional industries, uncovering spiritual needs and providing emotional value in each market segment, and has enormous potential for development.
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