国内英语新闻:Retail booms as Beijingers buy more during New Year holiday

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A survey conducted by an information center affiliated to Beijing's commerce bureau revealed that retail sales jumped at more than 3,500 stores in the Chinese capital during the 3-day New Year holiday ending Monday, nearly reaching 2.5 billion yuan (about 378 million U.S. dollars), up 17.1 percent from the same period last year.

The Beijing Commercial Information Consultation Center surveyed 3,568 stores in Beijing regarding their sales volumes during the past three days, finding that various holiday promotions had brought notable results, pushing up sales to over 2.49 billion yuan.

The survey results also showed that consumers in Beijing were passionate about buying gold, since gold prices have kept rising during the past year. Consumers buy gold for investment purposes or to preserve their personal wealth amid the rising Consumer Price Index.

Sales volumes at the Caishikou Department Store, which is famous for its gold products, surged 64.1 percent during this holiday from one year earlier.

Besides gold, consumers also showed great interest in rabbit-figured toys and commodities with rabbit pictures on them, as 2011 is the year of rabbit in traditional Chinese culture.