Chongqing- Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality topped the national urban nighttime economy for three consecutive years, according to the recently published China's Urban Night-time Economy Influence Report from 2021 to 2022. 

Together with Beijing's Chaoyang District and Shanghai's Jing'an District, the report shows that Chongqing's Yuzhong District, Jiangbei District, and Yongchuan District ranked among the top 20 districts and counties.

The nighttime economy refers to business activities in the service sector between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., including shopping, catering, entertainment, and leisure. As a new force in China's economy, it can measure economic strength, commercial prosperity, and quality of life. 

At night in Jiangbeizui Riverbank Park, people set up tents to enjoy the most beautiful night view with their friends. (Photo/ Zhong Zhibin)

Public voting accounts for 50%

Aiming to select urban areas with the most influential nighttime economy in China, public voting has been added this year, according to Zhang Antong, representative of the Lookout Think Tank under the Xinhua News Agency, a research organization that published the report.

"Based on big data analysis and research, 30 candidate cities and 60 districts and counties were selected for social promotion and public voting, with the public voting score accounting for 50% of the total evaluation index," said Zhang. 

Besides, the team considered five factors in the target cities: influence, innovation, growth potential, industrial scale, and commercial district traffic of the nighttime economy. Each of the five dimensions contributed 20% to the professional evaluation, which accounts for 50% of the total evaluation index.

The final results show that Chongqing, Changsha, Qingdao, Chengdu, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Tianjin ranked among the top ten cities in the urban nighttime economies in 2021.

Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street is a famous nighttime consumption destination in Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Night tours, business districts, and innovation

Analysts concluded three factors that make Chongqing top the list: night tours, business districts, and innovation.

Over the years, Chongqing has created a variety of business formats for its nighttime economy, such as Hongyadong, Nanbin Road, and Jiangbeizui. To ensure that tourists have an enriching night tour experience, Chongqing integrates Bayu, food, and architectural culture into its night tour scenery.

Chongqing is committed to upgrading its business districts, and it works to transform traditional business districts and introduce the first store economy, thereby supporting the construction of the international consumption center. 

In 2021, Chongqing implemented policies to develop the nighttime economy and increase consumption, continuing to embrace business for its future development.

For example, during the last three years, the Chongqing Nightlife Festival has integrated different business areas of the city. Nearly 200 special nighttime activities were launched, encompassing business, tourism, culture, and sports.

(Yang Qinmei, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)