Sales of tea, coffee surge across county stores

This Spring Festival holiday, sales of tea and coffee beverages surged across county level stores in China, fueled by booming domestic tourism and a growing cafe culture among young people returning home to smaller cities.

At Wula Coffee, a local cafe in Lingshui Li autonomous county, Hainan province, business has been thriving.

"From morning to night, we've been working nonstop. Customers are eager for tea and coffee drinks to enhance their holiday experience," said Xia Xia, an employee at the cafe.

Lingshui, located just 20 minutes' drive from Sanya, has witnessed a rapid expansion of tea and coffee chains in recent years, including brands like Chagee, Starbucks, Luckin Coffee and ChaPanda. During the holiday week, long lines formed at these stores.

"To avoid waiting, I had to order through my phone and pick up my drink half an hour later," said Liu Qianru, a traveler from Beijing who visited Lingshui for the warm weather. When she opted for delivery, it took two hours to arrive. "By then, my latte was no longer hot," she said.

With more returning residents and visitors, county-level cities have seen a noticeable increase in branded tea and coffee chains, reflecting broader consumption trends across China.

According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic travel reached 501 million trips during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, up 5.9 percent year-on-year and 20.72 percent higher than the same period in 2019. Domestic tourism spending totaled 677 billion yuan ($92.68 billion), marking a 7 percent year-on-year rise and a 31.74 percent increase from 2019.

Spring Festival travel reports from online travel agencies and e-commerce platforms indicate that experiencing local Spring Festival customs and engaging with intangible cultural heritage were popular themes this year and this trend significantly boosted sales at tea and coffee chains nationwide.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that during the 2025 Spring Festival, sales revenue for major retail and catering enterprises increased 4.1 percent year-on-year.

Leading on-premise tea and coffee chain brands capitalized on this trend. Heytea said that revenues of many of its stores surged more than 300 percent compared to that of last month, with some jumping more than 900 percent. This surge in sales is attributed to the "returning home rush" and the "travel boom", which have driven consumer demand in these areas, said the company.

Cities such as Jiayuguan in Gansu province, Xinzhou in Shanxi province, Shaoguan in Guangdong province, Lianyungang in Jiangsu province and Bengbu in Anhui province, saw significant increases in sales, making them some of the top cities in terms of sales growth, according to Heytea.

The company said stores located in historic and cultural destinations — such as the Qiao Family Compound and Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi, and Nanjing's Qixia Temple — experienced record-breaking sales. Its founding store in Jiangmen, Guangdong, became the number one in sales during the holiday. During peak hours, the waiting list was for more than 1,000 cups.

Tea chain brand Chagee reported a similar boom, with sales in scenic spots including Pingyao Ancient City and Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village in Southwest China's Guizhou province jumping 300 percent over the same period last year.