Driving tourism revenue over 2.4 billion yuan, the "World Supermarket" is a huge hit! The Spring Festival Gala sub-venue has become a popular check-in spot!

“World Supermarket” Yiwu continues to unleash the magnetic effect of the Spring Festival Gala.

This year’s New Year’s Eve, the Yiwu sub-venue captivated billions of viewers worldwide on the CCTV 2026 Spring Festival Gala in just eight minutes. Now that the Gala has concluded, “World Supermarket” Yiwu is transforming the audiovisual feast on the screen into accessible holiday cultural tourism consumption.

On February 21, coinciding with the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, a traditional folk day for “welcoming the God of Wealth and bringing good luck,” Yiwu Fotang Ancient Town, which made a stunning appearance on the Gala, was decorated with lanterns and filled with joy. The “God of Wealth” troupe and dragon dance parade performances lively staged, pushing the festive atmosphere of the ancient town to a climax.

With the support of the Gala sub-venue at the main station, Yiwu Fotang Tourism and Vacation Area is operating at full capacity. Since New Year’s Eve, the average daily number of visitors has exceeded 100,000, driving over 33 million yuan in cultural and tourism consumption.

(The above image shows Yiwu Fotang during the Spring Festival holiday)

In fact, this is just a microcosm of the Spring Festival Gala effect on Yiwu’s cultural and tourism market.

Since the Spring Festival, the entire city of Yiwu has seen a total of 2.6757 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 30.87%; total integrated tourism revenue reached 2.408 billion yuan, up 28.43%. Among them, the 10 Spring Festival Gala check-in points in Yiwu have attracted over 650,000 visitors by the fourth day of the lunar month, with citizens and tourists eager to “share the same frame as the Gala.”

For example, as the main stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Yiwu sub-venue, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center under the Small Commodities City (600415) attracted 61,900 visitors on its opening day, boosting nearly 1 million yuan in on-site New Year market sales. The Western Gate Old Street restored the aesthetic scenes of the Gala, featuring a stunning drum stage, dazzling phoenix lanterns, and streets blending tradition and trend, attracting many visitors to check in. On the first day of the lunar New Year, the foot traffic reached 12,100, and on the fourth day, it exceeded 30,000, with daily visitor numbers continuing to rise.

(The above image shows the main stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Yiwu sub-venue, at the Small Commodities City’s Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center)

According to reports, during this Spring Festival holiday, Yiwu leveraged the CCTV Gala sub-venue to launch a “activity matrix + consumption incentives + industrial chain extension” combo to fully unleash consumption potential.

In terms of activity matrix, centered around the Gala sub-venue and five major districts, 14 towns and streets launched 166 “Follow the Gala to Tour Yiwu” cultural tourism experiences, achieving “one town, one feature, surprises every day.”

For consumption incentives, 20 million yuan in “Follow the Gala to Tour Yiwu” shopping vouchers were issued, covering dining vouchers, accommodation vouchers (including online and offline), and general consumption vouchers, encouraging citizens and tourists to “visit stores, sit down to eat, stay and explore.”

Regarding industrial chain extension, integrating the Gala IP with local culture, 17 co-branded cultural and creative products such as Year of the Horse woven brocade bags and intangible cultural heritage drum toys were developed, along with over 100 “Yiwu Gifts” specialty products. Seven Gala-themed pop-up stores were set up at airports, train stations, and key commercial districts, along with an online “Yiwu Gifts” micro-store, and four double-decker bus mobile cultural flash sales, plus a partnership with China Post to open a “Gala Post Office.”

(The above image shows cultural and creative shops around Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center)

Additionally, it is reported that on the twelfth day of the lunar month, Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center will host the “Gala Recreates Yiwu’s Leading Spirit” global digital trade night, recreating Gala scenes through four chapters; on the fifteenth day, the stunning Gala bench dragon will reappear in Fotang Ancient Town, featuring dragon welcoming, chasing, dancing, and fighting, showcasing intangible cultural heritage and the spirited emblem of Yiwu’s progress.

(Article source: Securities Times)