China is investing in offering its tourists a full day of activities

The Chinese government is encouraging businesses and local districts to develop the so-called “night economy” in an effort to boost growth.

 

Some retailers and hospitals have extended their operating hours, while cities are also spending on elaborate light shows. It’s all part of the government’s attempt to get people to spend more money at night.

Shopping malls add interactive events

Shopping malls are among some ways that businesses are adapting to the promotion of night-time economy, and it’s not just by extending operating hours.

Currently, the trend is that malls have the food and beverages area with and access to an outdoor space accessible on ground floors. These spaces are also adding live bands, beer-brewing restaurants, escape rooms, theaters and e-sports halls. The peak hours of engagement/consumption for many of these activities are in the evenings or late at night, Wei said.

Retailers are happy that the government is backing the night economy and the effects can alrady be felt in Beijing.

In May, Hopson One, one of the capital city’s most popular shopping malls, announced the official opening of its “late-night canteen”.

The mall already has a nearly 20,000 square-meter underground food and beverage area that’s built to look like the narrow, stone-paved streets of an old town. Under the “late night” banner, Hopson said it would add a slew of events, including street dance, music DJs and interactive activities. The indoor area is now open as late as midnight, while the rest of the mall shuts down at the usual closing time around 10 p.m. or earlier.

The interest in late-night eating has also spread to online food delivery. This made, Meituan Dianping, a major company in this industry, disclose that for the first six months of the year, orders placed in Shanghai between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. grew 127% from the same period a year ago. The two hours from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. accounted for nearly two-thirds of the orders, it said.

Meituan said other cities, such as Hangzhou and Shaoxing, saw a growth of  more than 40% for their night-time orders during the first half of the year.

From hospitals to tourist hot spots

But the retail business isn’t the only one hopping on this extended operating hours bandwagon, health care providers are also doing it. One hospital in Beijing announced that it would open a clinic that works between 4:50 pm and 8:30 pm and there are several others that are experimenting with the concept of nighttime clinics.

“Under the support of night-time economy and smart cities, local landscape lighting plans are being released, and many localities plan to spend more than 100 million yuan (about $14 million). In urban beautification, pulling up night-time consumption, also gives uses of LED a new space for growth,” China-based LED research group Gaogong said in June, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language article.

Other Chinese cities spending on light shows in recent years include Qingdao, Yantai and Hangzhou. In Beijing, the Forbidden City held a light show in February that was part of its first night-time opening since it became a museum nearly a century ago.

Source: cnbc.com