Shoppers scooping up gifts for New Year

Green and organic food from home and abroad are top sellers at WAOW Plaza, a high-end department store recently opened at Hangzhou city of Zhejiang province, said Xia Lili, the store's general manager. "The days when people celebrate the arrival of the Lunar New Year with a piece of fish and a piece of chicken are gone. They want to eat healthy and eat smart," Xia said.

At Wal-Mart supermarkets across the country, imported wines are promoted in addition to traditional festival goods such as nuts and liquor, according to Vivian Jiang, public relations manager at Wal-Mart (China) Investment Co Ltd.

"Original" and "contamination free" are labels attracting Chinese customers who are extremely sensitive on food-safety issues. "Green" pork from pigs raised on organic vegetables at Suichang, a county at Zhejiang province, has became popular among Spring Festival merchandise featured on Taobao, a major online shopping website. Taobao's statistics show more than 60,000 people purchased food products labeled from their original production locations, a sharp rise from 10,000 people from the same period of last year.

More coupons and gift cards from health-check institutions, gyms and travel agencies are also selling well - gifts seen as a good wish to embark on a healthy new year, Gao, from Bogo Consultants, said.

Tang Xiaotao, a 30-year-old engineer, bought two membership cards from a neighborhood gym for his wife and himself as a reward for their hard work in the past year. "According to our previous experience, what we mostly do on holiday when we get back to our hometown is to eat nonstop," said Tang. "I think both of us will need to lose some weight after the festival season."

And while it's traditional for Chinese to spend Spring Festival in their hometowns, younger generations are sending their parents to travel locally and abroad during or after the holiday as a new way to say thank-you, said Gao. Because of the seven-day holiday that started from Feb 9, islands at tropical destinations are top choices.

Ctrip.com, a leading online travel agency, has offered gift cards to meet the demands for tourism products as presents for parents and friends. Available in values between 500 and 5,000 yuan, the cards can be used to purchase hotels and flights.

Contact the writer at wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn