Beijing News You Might Have Missed This Week, Jan 15

Irene Li, Associate Editor | Jan 15, 2022 11:32 am | Add a comment | 377 reads

Beijing is a happening city! Don't miss a thing with our weekend roundup of the latest news.

Beijing's consumer market has returned to normal levels as of 2021: From Jan to Nov of last year, spending in the capital made a comeback from Covid woes: total consumption grew 13.1 percent, with a two-year average growth rate of 2.4 percent. Total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 1.36 trillion. Online sales accounted for 36.2 percent of total retail sales.

Imports and exports also saw growth last year, jumping 30.3 percent – 8.3 percent higher than the national level. It's estimated that annual import and export of services will reach RMB 840 billion this year.

Giant Chinese knot installed in Tian'anmen Square: The knot, which is red and gold with a blue-and-white snowflake in the center, features the "Beijing 2022" logo. With the Games starting around the same time as the Spring Festival holiday, we couldn't think of a better way to welcome both the Olympics and the Lunar New Year. Still no word on if the knot lights up or not.

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics torch to pass through the three competition locations from Feb 2 to 4: A batch of 1,200 Olympic torches have been assembled and are headed to the capital for the event. The flame will be on a route connecting sights of cultural and historical significance between Beijing, Yanqing, and Zhangjiakou, before arriving in time for the opening ceremony.