A fresh trend has emerged in China's tourism scene, with travelers increasingly bypassing crowded metropolises and famous landmarks in favor of exploring lesser-known counties and county-level cities. This shift signals a transformation in county-level consumption, which is shedding its outdated image of being backward or low-end and is now experiencing rapid growth driven by diversity, quality, and experience-oriented offerings. To tap into this potential, the Ministry of Commerce, along with several other departments, recently issued guidelines aimed at revitalizing the lower-tier market and boosting consumption in county areas.

High-level strategies have repeatedly emphasized the importance of county-level consumption, elevating it to a strategic pillar for expanding domestic demand and building a robust internal market. Official data shows that from January to July this year, retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas grew by 2.4% year-on-year, outpacing urban growth by 1.3 percentage points, marking the 55th consecutive month of rural growth equaling or exceeding urban levels. The challenge ahead lies in how to truly invigorate spending in counties and townships, attract consumers, and ensure this consumption momentum is sustainable over the long term.

In Henan Province, county-level consumption has become a vital engine for both provincial and national economic growth. In 2025, 15 counties and cities from the province were selected for the national compilation of typical cases of leading county commercial systems. Local governments have developed differentiated growth paths tailored to their specific conditions, creating a set of replicable and scalable best practices. The province's action plan for boosting consumption explicitly calls for the continued development of county commercial systems to connect urban and rural markets.

While Henan's county-level consumption shows strong momentum, it still faces notable weaknesses, including a severe homogenization of business formats in township commercial complexes and a market supply that struggles to keep pace with evolving consumer demands. This year, provincial political advisory committee members have put forward numerous proposals to address these issues and promote the upgrading of county-level spending.

Provincial committee member Lu Yixin has suggested strengthening the county commercial system by consolidating high-quality commercial data and building a regional data-sharing platform. This would help businesses better understand consumer habits, plan their locations in advance, and open new pathways for data-empowered, high-quality commercial development in counties. She also recommends standardizing business licensing procedures for chain retailers nationwide, establishing mutual recognition mechanisms, and creating a cross-regional "one-stop" government service system. Furthermore, she advises improving the utilization of existing commercial spaces, streamlining renovation approval processes, and introducing special support policies for community businesses in counties to stimulate market vitality and innovation.

The Henan Provincial Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party has proposed guiding companies to develop products and services tailored to rural consumers, enhancing quality and service levels to meet the personalized and diverse needs of farmers. They also suggest encouraging leading enterprises and cooperatives to forge closer ties with rural producers, establishing a long-term "supermarket + enterprise + cooperative + farmer" production-marketing linkage mechanism to reduce distribution bottlenecks and improve the upward flow of agricultural products. This includes promoting standardized agricultural production to enhance quality and safety, and developing rural tourism to drive economic growth and consumption upgrading in rural areas. Additionally, they recommend increasing investment in rural public service facilities to create a better consumption environment.

Addressing the shortcomings in urban-rural logistics infrastructure is also crucial. Building a three-tier distribution system at the county, township, and village levels can significantly improve the efficiency of rural goods distribution. Encouraging county-level distribution enterprises and outlets to undergo technological transformation and business model innovation is seen as an essential step for promoting the upgrading of county-level consumption.

Henan Province has implemented a series of measures to expand and improve county-level consumption, focusing on key areas such as commercial networks, logistics systems, agricultural brand development, talent cultivation, and boosting purchasing power. The provincial commerce department reports that 45 demonstration counties have been designated for county commercial system development, and in 2025, the scope has been expanded to include 60 counties and districts, covering all 17 provincial-level cities. This initiative leverages a three-tier commercial network and encourages leading trading and distribution companies to expand into lower-tier markets to unleash consumption potential.

Rural logistics, a vital link between urban and rural production and consumption, has also seen significant improvements. Henan has established five national backbone cold-chain logistics bases in cities like Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Xinxiang, Shangqiu, and Luohe, ranking among the top in the country. Seven counties have been earmarked as key national cold-chain logistics hubs for agricultural products, with 71 on-site cold-chain collection and distribution centers registered, effectively reducing post-harvest losses. The rural express delivery system has been strengthened, with 57 municipal-level projects and 52 county-level projects in 2025 handling 480 million and 340 million parcels, respectively, driving agricultural sales of 9.83 billion yuan and 7.81 billion yuan. This has efficiently opened two-way channels for agricultural products to reach cities and industrial goods to reach villages, significantly lowering logistics costs and boosting delivery efficiency.

The province is also building a robust agricultural brand system under the umbrella of the "Yunong Youpin" initiative. By developing a framework of regional public brands, enterprise brands, and product brands, and implementing strict quality standards, Henan has included 1,123 high-quality products from 594 enterprises, enhancing their market value and premium pricing power. Efforts are also focused on strengthening production-marketing connections by building a modern distribution network for agricultural products. Three national-level wholesale markets, including the Xixia edible fungus market, the Ningling peanut trading market, and the Xinyang International Tea City, have been established to improve collection, distribution, processing, storage, and market linkage functions. Through skills competitions and training, the province is cultivating a talent pool of agricultural product brokers who can effectively connect producers with markets, boosting farmer incomes and rural consumption.

To further empower consumers, Henan has integrated rural consumption promotion into its special action plans, introducing policies aimed at increasing resident income, reducing consumer burdens, and smoothing rural commercial circulation. Implementation plans for 2025 and 2026 on large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in programs for consumer goods have been issued, expanding support for rural consumers to upgrade durable goods like cars, home appliances, digital devices, and smart equipment. Work-relief programs and consumption assistance initiatives are also being intensified in key projects and rural infrastructure construction to provide more employment opportunities and boost incomes in rural areas.