During the 2026 Spring Festival, festive celebrations and warmth returned in full swing. Instead of returning to my hometown, I joined relatives for a holiday residency in Huizhou, experiencing unique traditions and gaining new perspectives. This allowed me to observe visible crowds, tangible consumption, and renewed confidence, while also interpreting emerging trends in upgraded service consumption, demographic shifts, and the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area.

**Coastal Residency Boom: Xiaojingwan as a Case Study of Shift from "Check-In Tourism" to "Lifestyle Immersion"** With the Spring Festival holiday extended to nine days this year, combined with the dual trends of "reverse tourism" and "winter escape residency," Xiaojingwan—a coastal area near Shenzhen facing Daya Bay—exhibited vibrant residency-driven consumption. Unlike traditional "check-in" tourism, this model emphasizes immersive living experiences.

Accommodation saw significant demand. During the holiday, occupancy rates for sea-view apartments surged, with many property owners securing long-term or full-property rentals one to two months in advance. Coastal apartments, originally investment-oriented, transformed into essential residency assets. High-end hotels, such as the nearby Le Méridien, charged rates three to four times higher than usual, yet remained fully booked. Price signals did not suppress demand but instead reinforced the certainty of holiday spending.

Local commerce thrived. Around New Year’s Eve, supermarkets and restaurants operated at full capacity, with sharp increases in sales of seafood, fruit, alcohol, and hotpot ingredients. Long queues formed at checkouts, while seafood stalls and specialty eateries operated day and night. Parking spaces were scarce. Mandarin became the dominant language, with accents from Northeast, Central, and Yangtze River Delta regions blending, while local residents became the minority. Third- and fourth-tier coastal cities like Huizhou are capturing family tourism demand that previously flowed to Sanya or Xiamen.

Recreational activities flourished. Xiaojingwan Beach offered free access and a variety of paid experiences, including jet skiing, speedboat tours, and paddleboarding—all fully booked despite high prices. The newly reopened Wushantou Greenway, a 3.3-kilometer coastal path, became a popular attraction. Shared electric scooters, family bicycles, and sightseeing vehicles frequented the pathways, reflecting upgraded, low-threshold "light transportation" consumption. At night, fireworks lit up the coastline, creating a spontaneous festive atmosphere. Consumer spending expanded from basic dining and lodging to comprehensive land, sea, and air experiences.

Xiaojingwan’s Spring Festival exemplified not just vibrancy but a gradual, sustained upgrade in consumption structure, showcasing high-quality development in service consumption. On January 25, 2026, the State Council’s "Plan to Accelerate the Cultivation of New Growth Drivers in Service Consumption" emphasized activating key sectors, including residency services, and nurturing destination cities. More locations like Xiaojingwan are poised to enter public awareness and daily life.

**Silver Economy Expressed Through "Migratory Bird" Lifestyles: Huizhou’s Gradual Accumulation of Strengths** On Xiaojingwan’s greenway, I met a retired woman from Harbin who shared that this was her third winter in Huizhou: "With temperatures of -20°C in the north and over 20°C here, plus sea-view apartments renting for just 1,500 yuan per month, the value is unbeatable."

This is not an isolated case. According to Huizhou’s culture and tourism bureau, over 100,000 "migratory bird" residents chose to spend the winter in Huizhou in January–February 2025. As a city within the Greater Bay Area, Huizhou is modeling the "migratory bird" residency economy. On February 12, 2026, the Bay Area Silver Age Conference, themed "Wellness in Huizhou, Aging in the Bay Area," convened academics and industry leaders to discuss silver economy development and integrated care. This "silver wave" represents a significant market opportunity driven by an aging society.

Huizhou’s migratory bird economy benefits from three advantages: abundant and affordable housing, with vacant properties from the real estate boom offering sea-view rentals from hundreds to thousands of yuan monthly; a mild climate, with average January highs of 23°C; and strategic location within the Greater Bay Area, supported by developed transportation and improving infrastructure and healthcare. Spring Festival performance in dining, hotels, transport, and entertainment served as a "stress test" for the local service sector. Sustained high visitor numbers and spending reflect resilient local consumption ecosystems. Huizhou is actively advancing this transition—for example, Huidong County is piloting public-private partnership elderly care models, integrating medical and rehabilitation services. While infrastructure, healthcare, and tourism branding require further refinement, Huizhou’s gradual progress positions it to evolve from a "migratory bird habitat" into a "wellness industry hub."

As aging accelerates, "seasonal retirement" and "silver residency" are gaining traction. The 2025 Winter Migratory Bird Retirement Suitability Index notes that by 2024, China’s population aged 60 and above reached 310 million, with 220 million aged 65 and above. As the baby boomer generation ages, an average of 22.4 million people are expected to enter retirement annually from 2022 to 2035. By around 2032, the elderly population will exceed 400 million, accounting for over 30% of the total population, marking severe aging. This vast demographic creates immense potential for seasonal retirement markets. Cities with pleasant climates, affordable housing, and improving infrastructure and healthcare stand to benefit. The ability to switch seasons within hours via plane or high-speed rail enhances quality of life, with Huizhou serving as one replicable model.

**Cross-Border Recovery Wave: Human Flow as a Barometer of Confidence in Greater Bay Area Integration** On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I traveled from Huizhou South Station to Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station in just over an hour by high-speed rail.

Border crossing was smoother than expected. Despite large crowds, order prevailed, with efficient self-service gates allowing mainland tourists to clear immigration in seconds using ID cards and fingerprints. Cross-border high-speed rail services have intensified—on January 26, 16 additional mainland stations began direct services to West Kowloon, significantly enhancing connectivity. The co-location clearance model streamlined travel, enabling "Huizhou residency, Hong Kong shopping" itineraries and injecting vitality into Hong Kong’s economic recovery.

The Hong Kong Immigration Department anticipated approximately 11.38 million border crossings during the Lunar New Year holiday (February 14–23), with about 9.52 million via land checkpoints. The Hong Kong SAR Financial Secretary projected 1.43 million mainland visitors during the period, with daily averages up roughly 6% year-on-year. Hong Kong hosted multiple large-scale events: a parade in Tsim Sha Tsui on the first day of the New Year featured 16 performance teams, 13 of which were debut performers in Hong Kong; a fireworks display on the second day launched 31,888 pyrotechnics; and additional events included horse racing on the third day and a soccer tournament on the fifth day.

Victoria Harbour’s fireworks and crowded streets demonstrated Hong Kong’s resilience as an international destination and core hub of the Greater Bay Area. Although some popular restaurants remained closed for the holiday, visitor enthusiasm was undiminished. Queues for the Star Ferry stretched hundreds of meters, with each departure full. Tourists rode trams through Hong Kong Island’s streets, soaking in the architecture and local atmosphere.

Hong Kong’s tourism recovery mirrors deeper Greater Bay Area integration and accelerated connectivity. Infrastructure such as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has realized a "one-hour living circle." Streamlined immigration policies have boosted mainland travel demand, while Hong Kong’s cultural branding synergizes with mainland cities to form a destination cluster blending local charm and international appeal.

Fireworks illuminated the coastline, while crowds illuminated confidence. From coastal residency in Huizhou’s Xiaojingwan, to the rise of the silver economy, and Hong Kong’s tourism rebound, the 2026 Spring Festival revealed underlying economic strength: new growth drivers in service consumption are emerging, experiential and quality-driven demand is expanding, demographic changes are creating new markets, and regional integration is accelerating resource flows as the Greater Bay Area evolves into a world-class urban consumption ecosystem. The festive atmosphere serves as a testament to the resilience and vitality of China’s economy.