YIWU, China, Feb. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from Yiwu Media Convergence Center:
On New Year’s Eve, the stunning debut of the Yiwu sub-venue at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala showcased “A Different Yiwu” to the world. Far from concluding with the gala’s end, Yiwu transformed its fleeting on-screen brilliance into a tangible New Year experience, igniting the potential for holiday cultural tourism consumption.
From “Highlight Stage” to “Lasting Attraction”
The Spring Festival Gala effect continues to reverberate, bringing a “strong start” to Yiwu’s cultural tourism market. Since the Spring Festival, Yiwu has recorded a total of 2.6757 million tourist visits across its regions, a year-on-year increase of 30.87%. Comprehensive tourism revenue reached 2.408 billion yuan, up 28.43% year-on-year.
Starting from the first day of the Chinese New Year, ten Gala-related check-in spots were gradually opened to the public. As of the fourth day of the new year, the cumulative foot traffic had exceeded 650,000.
As the main stage for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala sub-venue, the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Centre received 61,900 visitors on its opening day, driving nearly 1 million yuan in consumption at the on-site New Year market. Ximen Old Street restored the aesthetic scenes from the Gala, featuring the magnificent rattle-drum stage, dazzling phoenix lantern displays, and alleyways where tradition met modernity, attracting throngs of visitors. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, the street received 12,100 visitors, and by the fourth day, single-day foot traffic exceeded 30,000, with average daily numbers continuing to climb.
From “Online Traffic” to “Offline Consumption”
During the Spring Festival holiday, Yiwu implemented a combined strategy of “Event Matrix + Consumption Incentives + Industrial Chain Extension” to fully unleash consumption potential.
The event matrix achieved comprehensive coverage. Centered around the 2026 Spring Festival Gala sub-venue locations and five major commercial districts, Yiwu coordinated with 14 towns and sub-districts to launch 166 “Explore Yiwu with the Spring Festival Gala” Spring Festival cultural tourism experience activities, ensuring “each town has its unique feature, with surprises every day”. Fotang Tourist Resort hosted immersive activities during the holiday, such as ancient town rooftop concerts, and intangible cultural heritage stage performances, accumulating over 600,000 tourist visits and achieving total tourism revenue exceeding 40 million yuan.
The industrial chain was extended in an integrated manner. By blending the Gala’s IP with local culture, Yiwu developed 17 co-branded cultural and creative products with the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, including Year of the Horse woven bags and intangible cultural heritage rattles, along with over a hundred “Yiwu Gifts” specialty items. Seven pop-up stores for Gala cultural creative products were opened at the airport, train stations, and key commercial districts. An online “Yiwu Gifts” store was launched, four double-decker buses were transformed into mobile pop-up shops, and a “Spring Festival Gala Post Office” was established in collaboration with China Post. To date, total sales of cultural and creative products have exceeded 5 million yuan.
