This year's "Double 11" shopping festival, China's biggest annual shopping event, has seen growing enthusiasm for trade-in programs and experience-driven products, trends that have driven youth consumption and reached even the more rural areas of the country.
In the first years after its creation in 2009, Double 11 was a frenzied spree of online consumption on Nov 11 each year. Over time, the festival has extended, evolving from a one-day shopping extravaganza into a month-long event.
Thanks to China's ongoing trade-in program for home appliances, the market for these products remains strong in November.
"During this year's Double 11, over 90 percent of county and rural areas nationwide have seen consumers participating in trade-in programs. We offer a one-stop service where consumers can get new electronic devices in exchange for their old ones," said Luo Huyi, a director for digital products at JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce platform.
For many young consumers, Double 11 has evolved beyond a simple shopping spree into an experience-driven event, providing them with an ideal opportunity to book appealing cultural and tourism services online in advance.
From historical site tours to skiing and camping, online orders for cultural travel have seen a great rise during this shopping event. Between Oct 14 and Nov 10, online transactions for tourism products grew more than eightfold compared to the same period last year. Notably, outbound travel bookings increased more than 11 times year on year, data from China’s leading online travel agency Ctrip showed.
During the shopping festival, toys that help with emotional well-being, like cute stuffed animals and creative building-block toys, have also become more popular among young consumers.
China's "Double 11" shopping festival sees trends in trade-ins, experience-driven consumption
China's "Double 11" shopping festival sees trends in trade-ins, experience-driven consumption
A road which is being constructed by a Chinese contractor in the mountains of Peru is expected to promote economic development in Huanuco province, which is located about 350 kilometers away from the Peruvian capital Lima.
Huanuco is surrounded by the towering Andes mountain range, with altitudes averaging over 4,000 meters, and its poor road infrastructure has posed significant challenges to travelers and to farmers when they want to ship their potatoes, corn and other produce to customers in other locations.
To mitigate these challenges, construction work began in 2019 on the Andes National Road project, also known as the Carretera Huanuco-La Union-Huallanca road project.
Located in the central and western regions of Peru, the 236.63-kilometer road is the country's largest infrastructure project under construction, and is expected to take 11-12 years to complete.
It is estimated to halve travel time for about 270,000 people in 243 towns along the road.
"I am a farmer. I have grown potatoes all my life. We tried to sell Huanuco products to Lima. Because there were only paths, it was difficult to get there. People had to travel for hours. But now, it has shortened the time," said Adalberto Vela, a potato farmer in Huanuco.
"In fact, it will lower the cost of products and it will be easier to transport the products to the capital," said Gonzalo Prado, a truck driver.
"From the point of view of transport in Peru, it was necessary, because it is part of the national highway system. This makes it easier and better for producers in the mountainous areas to profit more from their products," said Luis Cordoba, the director of the engineering department at the national highways bureau under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
While trying to maximize the economic advantages of the new road, China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corporation Limited (CR20G), which is responsible for building the Andes National Road project, also works hard to protect the local environment.
This part of the Andes features a complex and diverse climate and a fragile ecological environment characterized by native forests along the route of the road.
To balance the requirements of heavy infrastructure work and a delicate environment, CR20G workers plant trees while building the road. The work team also includes experts specializing in environment, forest, safety, and community development. Nurseries have been established at different altitudes for different plants, and specialists teach forest protection knowledge to tens of thousands of residents along the road, and train forestry technicians.
"We are about to plant 40,000 trees. They are purely native species," said Luis Avila, a forest engineer.
"I look forward to the completion of the Andes national highway. Our construction team will deliver to the Peruvian people not only a high-quality expressway, but also a road surrounded by lush landscape, which is the best proof of Chinese companies' practice of biodiversity conservation. In my opinion, this road will be a road to poverty alleviation, a road that combines development and ecology, and a road of friendship between China and Peru," said Chen Jingfang, the executive manager of CR20G's Peru Branch.
Chinese-built road to promote economic, environmental development in Peru
