# The Qixi Spending Boom: From Night Tourism to Heritage Craft Experiences > Cultural night tours, immersive exhibitions and heritage craft experiences drove a surge in festive spending on Qixi Festival. Experts say the trend reflects a deepening sense of cultural identity and an upgrade in consumption patterns, with evening ticket sales up more than 50 percent above the daily average. - Source: Times of China (Times of China) - Canonical URL: https://timesofchina.cn.com/en/article/qixi-festival-consumption-trends - Chinese edition: https://timesofchina.cn.com/article/qixi-festival-consumption-trends - Author: 中国时报编辑部 - Section: Society - Published: 2026-08-19T20:00:00+08:00 - Updated: 2026-08-19T20:00:00+08:00 - Tags: 七夕, 消费升级, 夜间经济, 非遗, 文旅 --- Qixi Festival, China's answer to Valentine's Day, fell on Wednesday this year and brought with it a now familiar surge in festive spending, from cultural night tours and immersive exhibitions to hands on encounters with traditional crafts. Experts say the boom points to a deeper sense of cultural identity and a shift in what consumers want from a holiday. ## From a bridge of magpies to a craft fair The festival is rooted in the legend of a cowherd and a weaver girl separated by the Milky Way who are said to reunite once a year on a bridge formed by magpies. In Beijing, the Nanchizi Museum opened a themed exhibition ahead of the festival blending traditional astronomy with contemporary art, and held a fan making workshop on Saturday, with two more planned for August 22 and 29. The Chinese Traditional Culture Museum opened a Qixi themed intangible heritage zone in its central hall through Sunday, featuring eight traditional crafts including incense making, tie dye and velvet flower making. In Gusu district, Suzhou, a free group wedding brought together couples who had already registered their marriages this year or planned to around Qixi, offering styling, photography and a traditional Chinese ceremony, part of a wider push by local civil affairs officials to lean into the holiday's romantic appeal. At Suji Ancient Town in Leshan, Sichuan province, visitors tried a traditional needle threading challenge on Saturday, using vintage style needles and colored thread. ## What is behind the boom According to the China Intangible Cultural Heritage website, Qixi customs run deep. Women traditionally threaded needles by moonlight, with speed seen as a sign of skill, while others stargazed in hopes of glimpsing the two lovers reunite and prayed for a happy marriage. He Qicong, an associate professor at Beijing Normal University's Institute of Culture Innovation and Communication, said traditional festivals have always given people a way to reconnect with their cultural roots, and that reviving old customs is less about the rituals themselves than about the underlying view of life they carry. Evening outings have become one of the most popular ways to mark the day. Evening ticket sales at domestic attractions rose more than 50 percent above the daily average on Qixi, according to online travel agency Tongcheng Travel, while data from Tuniu showed families made up more than 60 percent of weekend travelers. Falling near the end of the summer holidays, the festival also drew families out for weekend trips, and Tongcheng Travel said travelers aged 55 and older accounted for nearly 40 percent of its package tour bookings since the start of August, up about six percentage points from a year earlier. He said Qixi resonates across age groups because it carries different meanings for each, standing for enduring devotion among young couples, a tradition of skill and craftsmanship for women, and a picture of family harmony and hard won stability for older generations. Du Jianfang, a researcher at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, told Economic Information Daily that the rise in traditional festival spending is not simply the product of holiday promotions but a longer term trend driven by cultural momentum, new kinds of offerings and an upgrading of consumption patterns, with shoppers increasingly willing to pay for quality, experience and emotional value. --- Originally published by Times of China. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://timesofchina.cn.com/en/article/qixi-festival-consumption-trends.