Flu fears fail to dampen shopping zest

By Tan Yingzi, Wang Hongyi, Zhou Yan, Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-04 07:36

Pushing into crowded shopping malls, rubbing elbows in public parks or settling down for dinner in packed restaurants - you wouldn't know there was concern about the A(H1N1) flu by the way people celebrated the May Day holiday.

Sales at the 1,000 major stores across China reached 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), up 9 percent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce reported, with Beijing's Caishikou Department Store doubling its May 1 sales to 14.3 million yuan.

Elsewhere around the city, famous hotpot restaurant Donglaishun saw a growth of nearly 50 percent, and an estimated 550,000 visited parks in Beijing on a sunny May 1.

In Shanghai, the city's major retailers braced for a sales explosion during the three-day holiday.

"We have unexpectedly seen our sales soar 85 percent during the holiday, which even outperformed past years' growth," Zhu Jiagui, vice-general manger of Suning Appliance's Shanghai management center, told China Daily.

Last year, when the holiday lasted for seven days, the electronics retailer's sales rose 70 percent.

"Cautious consumers finally loosened their belts," Zhu said, adding that the company cut prices by an average 25 percent for the holiday sales.

Travel agencies in Guangdong did not cancel trips to neighboring Hong Kong after the special administrative region reported a case of the virus last week. "But all travelers bound for Hong Kong are required to submit a health report," said Wang Jian, spokesman for the China International Travel Service in Guangzhou.

The company saw more than 300 people travel to Hong Kong during the May Day holidays.

"The number of people asking for travel permits to Hong Kong has surged during the holidays. There seemed to be no fears of the deadly flu outbreak," Wang said.

However, many people have been stocking masks and preventive medicines.

Two major branches of Beijing's Tongrentang Pharmacy Stores told China Daily that they ran out of masks several days ago.

"People usually buy about 10 masks for their family members," a worker at the firm's Wangfujing branch said.

The Beijing municipal government launched an emergency plan yesterday.

Mayor Guo Jinlong urged all government departments to get ready for the epidemic and ensure a timely and transparent publication of information.

"Though no case has been reported on the Chinese mainland, more people have been seen wearing masks outside," said Wu Fan, chief of the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's good to see more and more people acquire hygienic habits."

Wu said the local department has stockpiled medical products.