On October 5, it was learned from the Municipal Bureau of Commerce that with the kick-off of the Xiangchao (Hunan Super League) Huaihua round, the city’s carefully planned “Enjoy Xiangchao, Stimulate Wuxi Consumption” campaign has delivered notable results. By using a “first venue” + “second-venue” model, organizers have leveraged more than 50 million yuan in overall consumption across the city.
“First venue” + “second venue”: synchronizing sports excitement with consumption
On the evening of October 4, the home game for Huaihua football team kicked off at the Municipal Sports Centre.
Outside the stadium, the Xiangchao market themed “Watch exciting Xiangchao, buy Huaihua specialties” was bustling, drawing many football fans.
Inside the market, stalls selling local snacks such as Chenxi sour radish, mooncakes, and rice tofu offered rich regional flavors. Booths selling Wunuo masks, Dong brocade, and Fumanman cultural and creative products kept many fans lingering. The Municipal Agriculture and Forestry Group organized more than 30 local vendors to provide products for the market.
To fully accommodate the massive crowds Xiangchao would draw, the commerce bureau set up 61 “Xiangchao second sites” across the city in advance, extending the football match fervor into commercial districts, night markets and scenic areas.
On match night at the Yushuwan Cultural, Tourism and Commercial Complex, many fans who couldn’t get tickets gathered there to watch the live broadcast of the football match. During the event, Yushuwan received about 60,000 visits.
At the ASEAN Market, football fans packed the area and cheered for players. The combination of match broadcasts and livestream promotional activities attracted roughly 10,000 visitors. Wanda Plaza ran Xiangchao-related promotions, offering exclusive discounts from more than 30 merchants across the mall with a Xiangchao match stub, and saw an 8% increase of the footfall.
A municipal commerce bureau official in the Consumption Promotion Division said that the citywide layout of these “second arenas” not only extended visitors’ dwell time but also created an immersive consumption experience, greatly stimulating residents’ participation and purchase intent.
Discounts keep consumption momentum alive
“It was actually quite cost‑effective to use the consumption vouchers, they worked at street stalls and hotels,” said a tourist who, guided by a staff from the Huaihua branch of the People’s Bank of China, successfully used a consumption voucher to offset payment at the Yushuwan Cultural, Tourism and Commercial Complex.
To maximize consumption potential, the city’s commerce department partnered with the Huaihua branch of the People’s Bank to run a “payment‑enabled cultural tourism for the ignition of new consumption vitality” campaign, amplifying the event’s multiplier effect.
The Huaihua branch of the People’s Bank, together with the municipal culture and tourism department and Mango Cultural Tourism, created special cultural‑tourism payment scenarios at the Yushuwan Cultural, Tourism and Commercial Complex. Using China UnionPay as the payment platform, banks and UnionPay rolled out vouchers and payment discounts covering snack and convenience stores, hotels, and beauty & hairdressing services.
Institutions such as Bank of Communications and Huaihua Rural Commercial Bank also built featured payment ecosystems in core commercial areas including Wanda Plaza, ASEAN Market, and the Wushui night-tourism scene, combining local character with payment convenience.
Bank of China ran pay‑and‑save promotions at 32 Jiahui supermarket outlets; customers could participate by linking a credit card of Bank of China to Alipay. These various payment discount initiatives effectively stimulated residents’ willingness to spend and earned widespread praise.
Spillover effect of the football match activates the city’s consumption vitality
Xiangchao has effectively energized local consumption, driving marked growth across retail, lodging, and catering sectors.
Restaurant consumption remained strong. More than 14,000 on‑site spectators plus nearly 20,000 viewers at second‑site locations participated, fueling a surge in late‑night dining revenue citywide. Restaurants in the Hecheng District recorded a total daily turnover of 13.8 million yuan; over 40 eateries ran promotions to stimulate consumption.
“With the holding of the football match, key dining businesses in the urban area saw roughly a 50% revenue increase over last year during the National Day period. Night‑market stalls were exceptionally busy with sales rising more than 60%,” Xiang Fang, president of the Municipal Catering and Food Industry Association, told the reporter.
Football fans drove a sharp rise in lodging demand; hotels across the city reported high occupancy. On match night, the occupancy rate of hotel rooms exceeded 99%. Yang Changhai, president of the Municipal Hotel Association, told the reporter, “Wyndham, Crowne Plaza, Huatai, Hilton, Jinlei, Peninsula and other key downtown hotels were fully booked for four consecutive days from October 1; occupancy rate rose sharply year‑over‑year. This has never happened before.”
Shopping centers and supermarkets, including Wanda, Tongcheng, Jiahui, RT‑Mart, JD and others, combined Xiangchao activities with the Mid‑Autumn and National Day holiday to launch a series of promotions that effectively drew crowds. Forty‑two major supermarkets recorded nearly 10 million yuan in single‑day retail sales during the event period, amplifying the economic ripple effect of the foot match.
“Xiangchao is not just a sports feast, it has become a powerful consumption IP,” an official of the municipal commerce bureau said. Through a carefully planned “event+” model, the city achieved the intended effect of “linking stadium with shopping venues, and using on‑site activity to drive off‑site spending.” The event’s influence has spilled beyond the arena to the entire consumption chain, providing strong momentum to boost consumer confidence and invigorate the city. In its own distinctive way, Huaihua has turned sporting passion into a sustained engine for urban economic growth.
(Translated by Yang Hong)