On May 29th, the Guangzhou Statistics Bureau released data indicating a 9.5% year-on-year increase in revenue for Guangzhou's large-scale service industry, reaching 616.38 billion yuan from January to April. The city's vibrancy is on full display with significant events and activities, such as the 135th Canton Fair, which boosted both passenger and cargo flows, the launch of the nighttime consumption season, the vibrant online digital economic industries, and various sporting events including marathons.
Canton Fair brings a surge in popularity
The highly anticipated 135th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) commenced in Guangzhou in April. Concurrently, the "Young City Yeah Market" nighttime consumption season began, enriching Guangzhou's nightlife with a variety of activities under themes like "Gourmet+", "Tourism+", "Art+", and "Culture+", boosting high visitor enthusiasm.
In the first four months of the year, the city recorded a passenger transport volume of 1.075 billion, a 17.0% increase year-on-year. This surge spurred growth in water, air, rail, and road passenger transport revenues by 38.8%, 23.0%, 18.8%, and 2.1%, respectively. The urban public transport revenue increased by 38.7%.
On the freight side, Guangzhou handled 284 million tons of cargo from January to April, driving revenue growth in rail, air, and water freight transport by 52.6%, 24.8%, and 14.7%, respectively. Revenue for multi-modal transport and freight forwarding industries also saw a year-on-year increase of 19.3%.
Notably, the Guangfo South Ring Line and Foshan-Dongguan Intercity Railway officially opened on May 26th, promising to enhance cultural and economic exchanges between Guangzhou and other cities within the province, injecting more vitality into Guangzhou's transport sector.
Digital economy initiatives flourish
Currently, various districts in Guangzhou are actively developing digital economy initiatives. Tianhe District is establishing an artificial intelligence and digital economy development axis. Haizhu District's Pazhou Internet Innovation Cluster is maturing, Huangpu District is building an integrated circuit hub with three main clusters, and Nansha District is pushing for the formation of an intelligent connected industrial chain.
The vibrant digital economy across Guangzhou's districts is yielding fruitful results. From January to April, the city's information transmission, software, and information technology services industry generated 171.02 billion yuan in revenue, marking an 8.3% year-on-year increase. Key areas such as digital content services, integrated circuit design, internet information services, operations and maintenance services, IT consulting services, information system integration, and IoT technology services saw significant growth, with revenues rising by 29.8%, 25.3%, 21.4%, 20.0%, 12.3%, and 11.4%, respectively.
Cultural and sports activities enhance Guangzhou's appeal
Dynamic cultural, sports, and entertainment events are boosting Guangzhou's vitality and charm. The Guangzhou Opera House, Guangdong Arts Theatre, and Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Theatre have offered a rich array of performances. Additionally, the city hosted various sports events, including marathons, badminton, and basketball tournaments. As a result, from January to April, revenue for the cultural and arts sector, sports sector, and broadcasting, television, film, and sound recording sector increased by 66.0%, 13.8%, and 9.4% year-on-year, respectively.