英语新闻丨Nighttime economy drawing in eager consumers
Nighttime dining, shopping and travel are thriving across China this summer, injecting fresh momentum to economic growth at a time when the country has prioritized consumption as its top priority this year.今年夏季，我国夜间餐饮、购物、旅游等消费业态蓬勃发展。在国家将消费列为今年工作重点的背景下，夜间经济为经济增长注入了新动能。The market size of China's nighttime economy has so far surpassed 50 trillion yuan ($7 trillion), said marketing consultancy Zhiyanzhan.More restaurants have extended business hours and launched delivery services to attract late-night diners and increase revenue.市场咨询机构智研瞻产业研究院数据显示，目前我国夜间经济市场规模已突破50 万亿元（约合 7 万亿美元）。为吸引夜宵客、提升营收，越来越多餐饮企业延长营业时间，并推出外卖服务。Huda Restaurant, a popular crayfish eatery in Beijing's bustling Guijie Street, is operating four outlets in the same area, cumulatively serving more than 6,500 customers daily on average. During peak hours on some nights, customers sometimes have to wait in line for three hours, according to the restaurant.位于北京繁华簋街的热门小龙虾餐厅“胡大饭店”，在该区域布局了 4 家门店，日均总客流量超 6500 人次。据餐厅介绍，部分夜晚的高峰时段，顾客有时需排队 3 小时才能就餐。"Tourists are often unable to wait that long to dine in. Some choose the takeaway option, or order deliveries to their hotels. Some 70 percent of our takeout orders come from nearby hotels, as many tourists tend to order deliveries at night after their daytime sightseeing in the city," said Zhang Shengtao, deputy general manager of Huda.“很多游客等不了那么久，有的会选择打包带走，有的则直接点外卖送到酒店。我们约 70% 的外卖订单来自周边酒店 —— 不少游客白天在市区观光后，晚上习惯点外卖。” 胡大饭店副总经理张胜涛说。"We take food delivery platforms as an important supplement to our operations, as the platforms allow customers to search for our restaurant from different channels. With no increase in the number of staff members and no change in restaurant areas, delivery services can help raise order volumes and lead to profit growth," Zhang said.他表示：“我们把外卖平台当作经营的重要补充，这些平台能让顾客通过多种渠道找到我们。在不增加员工、不扩大门店面积的情况下，外卖业务能帮助提升订单量，进而带动利润增长。”The restaurant chain said diners aged between 25 and 39 account for a large share of its total customers, while consumers opting for deliveries are mainly aged between 18 and 35.该餐饮连锁品牌透露，25 至 39 岁的顾客占堂食总客流的较大比例，而选择外卖的消费者以 18 至 35 岁人群为主。Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the availability of nighttime dining meets the demand for late night snacking among urban white-collar employees and many young consumers, especially as more people stay up late, work overtime, or venture out for social entertainment, and late night dining gradually becomes a part of their daily routine.中国国际贸易促进委员会国际贸易经济合作研究院副研究员洪勇指出，夜间餐饮的普及，满足了城市白领及众多年轻消费者的夜宵需求。如今熬夜、加班、外出社交娱乐的人群增多，夜宵逐渐成为他们日常生活的一部分。"Nighttime economic activities such as dining, night tours and shopping provide richer consumption scenarios, and meet consumers' demand for leisure and entertainment, social interaction and emotional release," Hong said.“餐饮、夜游、购物等夜间经济活动，提供了更丰富的消费场景，满足了消费者休闲娱乐、社交互动、情感释放的需求。” 洪勇说。"The expansion of nighttime consumption scenarios will help promote the diversification of consumption formats, encourage higher frequencies of spending, effectively stimulate domestic demand and promote sustained economic growth momentum," he added.他补充道：“夜间消费场景的拓展，有助于推动消费业态多元化，提高消费频次，有效激发内需，为经济持续增长注入动力。”According to a report released by the Ministry of Commerce, 60 percent of China's urban consumption takes place after dusk. At large-scale malls, sales between 6 pm and 10 pm usually account for over half of the whole day's revenue.商务部发布的报告显示，我国60% 的城市消费发生在傍晚之后。在大型商场，18 时至 22 时的销售额通常占全天营收的一半以上。Shui Tea Shop, a tea drink brand based in Jinan, Shandong province, now operates some 1,400 stores nationwide, which are mainly located in Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei provinces, as well as Tianjin and Beijing.总部位于山东济南的茶饮品牌“阿水大杯茶”，目前在全国拥有约 1400 家门店，主要分布在山东、江苏、河北三省及天津、北京两地。Since June, some of its stores began to extend their business hours. Now, over 300 stores operate until 11 pm, more than 100 stores operate until midnight, and a further 100 outlets are open beyond midnight. The extension of business hours will last until the end of September, the company said.该公司表示，自今年6 月起，部分门店开始延长营业时间：目前超 300 家门店营业至 23 时，100 余家营业至次日 0 时，另有 100 家门店营业至凌晨之后，这一延长营业时间的举措将持续至 9 月底。"After extending the business hours, there has been a clear trend of growth in store revenue, and some stores have experienced sales growth of over 100 percent compared with the period before the extension," said Wei Qun, director of delivery services at A-Shui Tea Shop.“延长营业时间后，门店营收增长趋势明显，部分门店销售额较延长前增长超 100%。” 阿水大杯茶外卖业务负责人魏群说。"Nighttime sales have been especially high in Jinan and Qingdao of Shandong, as well as Tianjin. Stores with higher revenues are mainly located in core business circles, and nighttime sales mainly come from orders for deliveries," Wei said.“山东的济南、青岛以及天津等地的夜间销售额表现尤为突出。高营收门店主要集中在核心商圈，夜间销售以外卖订单为主。” 魏群介绍。He added that in summer, many consumers are interested in having barbecues and crayfish at night, and restaurants providing such meals located in core business districts have largely extended their operating hours. Their popularity has also driven the sales growth of beverages, as certain drinks pair nicely with these kinds of food.他还提到，夏季夜晚，不少消费者喜欢吃烧烤、小龙虾，核心商圈内提供这类餐食的餐厅大多延长了营业时间。这些餐饮的火爆也带动了饮品销量—— 部分饮品与这类食物搭配口感更佳。In addition to the catering sector, many sightseeing spots have extended their opening hours this summer, and upgraded night tourism products to meet the diverse demand of travelers. Besides driving an increase in ticket revenue for scenic spots, it has promoted the growth of related businesses such as catering, accommodation and shopping in surrounding areas.除餐饮行业外，今年夏季，多家景区延长开放时间，并升级夜间旅游产品，以满足游客多样化需求。这不仅推动景区门票收入增长，还带动了周边餐饮、住宿、购物等关联业态的发展。The government has encouraged more industry players to actively develop the night tourism economy.政府也积极鼓励更多市场主体参与夜间旅游经济发展。According to a guideline issued earlier this year by the State Council, China's Cabinet, the holding of more nighttime activities such as folk performances, lantern fairs, temple fairs, and light and shadow shows has been encouraged, and different regions could develop water night tours based on local conditions.今年早些时候，国务院印发的指导意见明确，鼓励举办民俗展演、灯会、庙会、光影秀等夜间活动，各地可结合实际发展水上夜游项目。In addition, the government will support the upgrading and renovation of lighting services at night in commercial areas, and the optimization of support facilities such as parking lots and public transportation, according to the document.意见还提出，将支持商业街区夜间照明设施升级改造，优化停车场、公共交通等配套设施。In Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, a three-day international kite festival that included nighttime events attracted more than 163,000 tourists in July, netting tourism revenue of over 60 million yuan, according to the local government.据贵州省贵阳市政府消息，今年7 月举办的为期三天的国际风筝节（含夜间活动），吸引游客超 16.3 万人次，实现旅游收入超 6000 万元。Night markets, roadside concerts in parks, trunk markets and other nighttime consumption scenes were attractive to tourists.夜市、公园路边音乐会、后备箱集市等夜间消费场景，对游客具有很强的吸引力。"This type of nighttime cultural tourism model, with feature activities as its core, gathers popularity and forms a consumption loop, and has become an effective way to boost the nighttime economy," said Mu Qianyi, an analyst of LeadLeo Research Institute, a market research provider based in Shanghai.“这种以特色活动为核心的夜间文旅模式，能聚集人气、形成消费闭环，已成为拉动夜间经济的有效方式。” 上海市场研究机构头豹研究院分析师穆芊伊说。Mu added that new technologies and scenarios such as drone light shows at night will help enrich the experiences of tourists. The improvement in the quality of scenes naturally enhances the attractiveness and vitality of nighttime cultural tourism, and could help inject new impetus into economic growth.穆芊伊补充道，夜间无人机灯光秀等新技术、新场景，将进一步丰富游客体验。消费场景品质的提升，自然会增强夜间文旅的吸引力与活力，为经济增长注入新动力。Particularly, Shanghai has been developing a booming nighttime economy, and the city's after-dark economy index has maintained the top position in the country for five consecutive years. This year, it has been followed by Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Chengdu, Sichuan province, said Rising Lab, a city-oriented big data platform of Yicai Media Group.值得关注的是，上海夜间经济持续繁荣。第一财经传媒集团旗下城市大数据平台“第一财经研究院” 数据显示，上海夜间经济指数已连续五年位居全国首位，今年紧随其后的是广东广州与四川成都。In Shanghai, nighttime lighting covered 75 percent of the city's area last year, and nighttime public transportation covered 1,975 square kilometers, which significantly helped to improve the local nighttime consumption environment, the platform found.该平台还发现，去年上海夜间照明覆盖面积占全市面积的75%，夜间公共交通覆盖范围达 1975 平方公里，这一配套设施的完善显著改善了当地夜间消费环境。
