Chinese spend US$4.7bn over holiday

Chinese consumers spent more than US$4.7 billion over the week-long Labor Day holiday from March 1-7, an increase of 17% over the same period in 2002 according to data released by the Ministry of Communication. Close to 310 million people used public transpotation during the holiday, an increase of 9% over 2002. The holiday was effectively canceled by the government in 2003 due to the outbreak of SARS.