# Spring%20Festival
Latest news and articles about Spring%20Festival
Total: 43 articles found
Meituan Turns Its AI Concierge into a Lunar New Year Sales Engine as Holiday AI War Heats Up
Meituan has upgraded its AI concierge “问小团” for the Lunar New Year to offer verified, transaction‑ready local recommendations and holiday coupons, aiming to convert queries into on‑platform purchases. The move highlights a broader industry push to make generative AI the primary interface for commerce, raising questions about accuracy, merchant obligations and regulatory oversight.
Holiday Timing and an Oil Slide Keep China’s January CPI Tepid at 0.2%
China’s January CPI slowed to 0.2% year-on-year as the calendar shift of the Spring Festival and falling global oil prices weighed on headline inflation. Core inflation excluding food and energy rose modestly, while analysts say January and February should be read together because of the festival timing, with annual inflation likely to remain low.
A‑share Holiday Dilemma: Historical Spring Rally Gives Investors Reason to Hold Stocks — With Caution
China’s A‑shares historically show a strong probability of rising in the first five to ten trading days after the Lunar New Year, prompting many analysts to recommend carrying a partial equity position through the holiday. Reduced pre‑holiday volumes and sector rotation toward defensive and consumer names temper the optimism, and the long market shutdown raises the risk of gap moves from unforeseen headlines.
Chinese Errand App Pulls 'Proxy New‑Year Visit' After Outcry, Offers Triple Refunds and Charity Drive
UU Paotui removed a contested “proxy New‑Year visit” service after social‑media backlash, pledged triple refunds for unfulfilled orders and launched a charity campaign to mend its image. The incident underscores the cultural sensitivity and reputational risks Chinese platforms face when monetising intimate, ritualised services.
Tea, Dumplings and Letters: How China Sends the New Year to Its Frontier Troops
Ahead of the Lunar New Year, Chinese cities and civic groups shipped regional foods, letters and supplies to border and coastal troops to boost morale and signal civilian support. The campaign blends cultural ritual with practical care, strengthening civil-military ties and demonstrating local administrative capacity to mobilise society for state objectives.
China’s New Year Becomes AI’s Debut Season: Giants Gamble Billions and Workers Guard the Servers
China’s tech giants turned the Spring Festival into a high-stakes field test for generative AI, deploying billions in marketing and integrations while backend engineers worked through the holiday to prevent compute-driven outages. The event may mark a pivot from model-building to mass application, accelerating consolidation and everyday use of AI across social, local and entertainment services.
China’s Qingtianzu Launches ¥999 ‘Robot Experience’ as Robotics Hits Consumer Stage
Qingtianzu launched a ¥999 nationwide robot experience plan during a livestreamed robot gala, offering event-focused, rental-style access to robots for social occasions. The initiative reflects a broader push in China to commercialise robots through service and rental models that lower adoption barriers while testing demand for consumer-facing robotic experiences.
Alibaba’s Qianwen Extends Lunar New Year Free-Order Cards as Demand Overwhelms Delivery Capacity
Alibaba’s Qianwen extended its Spring Festival 25-yuan free-order card validity to February 28 after demand outpaced expectations, and widened eligibility to include meals, fresh produce and New Year goods via Tmall and Hema. Heavy user participation has strained merchant and flash-delivery capacity, leaving many unable to place orders and exposing the logistics limits behind a high-profile promotional push.
China’s Spring Festival Drives Electric‑Vehicle Charging to Record Peaks, Posing New Tests for the Grid
State Grid projects record high EV charging during China’s Spring Festival, with platform daily peaks above 34 million kWh and highway charging over 11 million kWh. The surge reflects accelerating EV adoption and stresses the need for smart grid management and expanded fast‑charging corridors, especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.
WeChat Blocks Alibaba’s Qianwen New‑Year Giveaway — Platform Power Meets Growth Hacking
WeChat quickly blocked sharing links for Alibaba’s Qianwen app after the latter launched a large Spring Festival referral promotion, following a recent similar ban on Yuanbao red‑envelope links. The move underscores how dominant platforms police virality to protect user experience and manage competitive optics, forcing marketers to rethink referral‑based growth.
China’s ‘Boomerang’ Tickets: Young Travellers Turn Cheap Layovers into Mini‑Holidays
Chinese young travellers are exploiting interline pricing and expanded transfer services to buy "boomerang" tickets: cheap multi‑segment fares that include long layovers for sightseeing before returning home overland. The trend reflects price sensitivity, holiday‑stacking behaviours and spare capacity at regional airports, and has implications for airlines, hotels, OTAs and policy makers seeking to smooth travel demand.
Jack Ma Reappears at Alibaba as New AI Shopping App Prepares a RMB3bn Lunar New Year Push
Jack Ma's recent visit to Alibaba's Qianwen team coincides with a planned RMB3 billion Lunar New Year promotional campaign for the AI-enabled shopping app. The effort aims to embed Qianwen in everyday holiday consumption by leveraging Alibaba's ecosystem, but it carries commercial and regulatory risks.