This year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays fall close together, and by taking just 3 days of leave, workers can stitch together a super-long break of up to 13 days, creating a major consumption window for the national culture and tourism market.

At the same time, this year also marks the 2026 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) China Year. As the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting approaches, combined with China's continuously expanding visa-free "circle of friends," the growing availability of one-click departure tax refund services, and increasingly optimized mobile payment convenience, the popularity of foreign visitors traveling to China continues to climb, with Shanghai standing out as one of the cities with the highest concentration of inbound consumption.

According to data from Ant Group, in the first four days of the National Day holiday, spending by inbound tourists through Alipay-linked foreign cards and overseas wallets partnered with Alipay+ (Ant's cross-border payment service) grew by nearly 50% year on year.

As APEC China Year activities roll out, global travelers are eager to come to China and experience the appeal of APEC. In addition to Shenzhen, the host city of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, cities such as Shanghai, Suzhou, and Guangzhou will also host a series of APEC-related meetings. In the cities hosting APEC meetings, total transaction value related to inbound tourists grew by more than 55% year on year. Among them, Shanghai ranked first on the list of the top ten popular cities for inbound tourist spending via Alipay.

To better serve inbound consumption, Ant Group, with support from the People's Bank of China and other authorities, has connected two key links: payment and tax refunds. For example, Ant Group has joined hands with multiple global card networks to launch an "inbound-consumption-friendly business district" initiative, which now covers more than a thousand major business districts nationwide, with more than 500 of them featured in multiple overseas e-wallets for "pre-trip inspiration."

In the shopping tax refund segment, Alipay has partnered with Shanghai and other cities to build a "one-tap tax refund" service, allowing overseas visitors to complete their tax refund by tapping or scanning a QR code, with funds arriving in as little as two minutes. During the National Day holiday, the number of tax refund transactions processed by inbound tourists through Alipay+ partner wallets increased by 88% year on year, with the average price of goods per tax refund transaction at about 7,000 yuan.

Original title: "APEC China Year Combined with Extended Double Holiday, Shanghai Tops List of Popular Cities for Inbound Tourist Alipay Spending"