Retailers and catering businesses were the main beneficiaries of the 1.2 trillion yuan (US$180 billion) Golden Week spending spree by Chinese consumers.

This was 10.7 per cent up on last year’s figure, according to Ministry of Commerce (MOC) data, with the biggest spenders being in Chongqing municipality and Sichuan province in west China, and Hunan province in central China.

Jewellery and gold, home appliances, IT products and energy cars were among the top picks during the week. There was also a demand for catering services for weddings, birthdays and family reunions.

It is the second consecutive year Golden Week has hit the 1 trillion yuan spending milestone, says China.org.

Despite an estimated 6 million Chinese tourists travelling overseas during the holiday week, domestic spending was highly encouraged, reports the International Business Times. Beijing has encouraged domestic spending to stimulate the economy, which jumped 6.7 per cent between January and June.

“The economy this year, especially in the third quarter, is better than expected,” according to Premier Le Keqiang.

A joint report by the China Tourism Research Institute and cTrip shows Chinese tourists spent as much as 8000 yuan during the national holiday.

About 593 million Chinese tourists visited attractions across China, says the China National Tourism Administration, spending a total of 482.2 billion yuan, 12.8 per cent year on year.

Golden Week, from October 1 to 7, is a national holiday of seven consecutive days.