In Weibo Watch, City Weekend takes a look at the most talked about topic circulating China's biggest microblogging site. This week everyone is talking about the $7.2 billion that Chinese tourists spent overseas during Spring Festival. How did Chinese netizens react?

Hey, big spenders! It looks like Chinese tourists are helping to save Europe’s battered economy. According to the World Luxury Association, during Spring Festival, Chinese tourists travelling overseas spent over US$7.2 billion on luxury items. That figure shot up by 28.57 percent compared to the previous year, when US$5.6 billion was spent during the same period. Thanks to the seasonal travelers, Europe saw a 12% boost in their luxury sales over the Jan. 22-28 holiday period, a very important boost in the midst of their economic crisis.

As always, this news report triggered a big discussion on Weibo. Some netizens were shocked, some were embarrassed and others are asking “Are Chinese citizens really that rich?”

Let’s take a look at what some of them are saying...

- Weibo user “Bai Jizhong” wrote: “This buying power doesn’t represent Chinese people, but rather that of Chinese government officials.”

- Weibo user “Xiao Chi” wrote: “Chinese are born for the face and die for the face.”

- Weibo user “Jingni” wrote: “We don’t have any belief or dream, so we rely on filling our life with meaningless stuff to feel full.”

- Weibo user “Minnan Zhisheng” wrote: “It’s a tragedy! We can’t trust our own products in China, so we have to go abroad to buy things.”

Other netizens aren’t surprised by this figure as more Chinese citizens are choosing to travel abroad during the Chinese New Year. According to Cankaoxiaoxi, the number of Chinese tourists travelling overseas increased by 30 percent in 2012. Others are blaming the government for setting such a high import tax for luxury items; it’s not difficult to understand why people hold off until their holiday to spend up big.

Despite the critical comments from netizens, one thing is for sure -- luxury brands were the biggest winners during Spring Festival.

Weib-ictionary:
After the release of this news report, Weibo users coined a new term to describe high-rolling Chinese tourists.

Chinsumer

noun
1: A name to describe rich Chinese tourists who spend ridiculous amounts of money on luxury goods overseas

First Known Use: 2012