The quantities of goods are double that of the previous year, according to the municipality's Commerce Bureau.

As well as a wealth of festive commodities which range from fresh flowers, luxury clothes, automobiles and furniture, to food and modern digital products, the city also arranges activities that give urbanites a taste of rural life, such as sharing specialmeals in farming households on the outskirtan areas.

By doing so, the organizers hope that people would celebrate and enjoy a special festival that features both traditional Chinese culture and modern lifestyles.

More than 10 million potted flowers and over 100 million fresh flowers are on sale in the capital's market.

The craze for fashions among youths extends to traditional Chinese jackets, popularly known as the Tang jackets, which are expected to play a still greater role in the festival garments sales. Major department stores in Xidan, Wangfujing Street and other commercial districts in and around the city proper of Beijing are making a special feature of Tang jackets in a bid to draw a growing number of buyers.

The craze for colorful, gorgeous Tang jackets during last year's Spring Festival contributed a kit to revitalized many Chinese garment makers.

Meanwhile, car sales were a hot spot on Beijing market in 2002, when the sales of both new and second-hand cars rose by nearly 20 percent on a yearly basis.

To promote car sales, the Asian Games Village Auto Market, one of Beijing's major auto retailers, has teamed up with local management departments in charge of festivities to host special auto shows and trade fairs during the Spring Festival holiday period.

Other car dealers have prepared advices for consumers on how toget a bank loan to buy a car and how to take care of their cars.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2003)