Traditional Spring Festival holiday picks up new ways of spending

About 385 million trips are expected to be made during the holiday, up 12 percent year on year, with tourism revenue around 476 billion yuan. About 6.5 million Chinese will travel overseas.

People from more than 200 Chinese cities have booked outbound tours to over 700 cities in 68 countries and regions on Ctrip, with destinations as far as Antarctica.

"Changes in lifestyle exert some impact on consumer behavior and habits. Consumers have come up with new requirements for tourism and food, thus contributing to the upgrading of these two sectors. When traveling, they pay more attention to the experience and comfort. In terms of food consumption, they are more willing to pay for healthy food," said Vishal Bali, managing director of Nielsen China.

China's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) reached 112 points in 2017, up from 106 points in 2016, with job prospects, personal finance and willingness to spend reaching a two-year high, according to Nielsen's latest quarterly survey.

The CCI continued its strong run in the fourth quarter of last year, reaching a record high of 114 points and it will maintain steady growth in foreseeable future as the economy stabilizes, said Bali.

China is expected to see retail sales of consumer goods expand about 10 percent to exceed 40 trillion yuan this year, according to a report from the research institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

The strong consumption growth will be powered by innovative products and services as more affluent Chinese are willing to pay for higher quality and unique experiences, the report showed.