Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, welcomed its first downtown duty-free store on Thursday. [Photo by Yang Jie/for chinadaily.com.cn]
Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, welcomed its first downtown duty-free store on Thursday, offering departing travelers, including Chinese tourists, a new shopping destination with prices about 11 to 25 percent lower than traditional department stores.
The outlet is among the first batch of eight new downtown duty-free shops approved nationwide to boost consumption. It caters to travelers holding valid exit-entry documents who are scheduled to depart China by air within 60 days.
Located on the first floor of the Henglicheng Shopping Mall in the heart of Fuzhou, the 857-square-meter store features a wide array of international brands across categories such as perfumes, cosmetics, watches, jewelry, luggage, sunglasses, spirits, and electronics.
It's the first outlet in Fujian to sell official merchandise for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games and Ma Dwen Dwen, a commemorative version of the Beijing Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen for the coming year of the horse.
Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, welcomed its first downtown duty-free store on Thursday. [Photo by Yang Jie/for chinadaily.com.cn]
To showcase local culture, the store also includes dedicated sections for Fujian's intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, offering a unique cultural tourism experience with Fujian and neighboring Taiwan characteristics.
Tourists visiting Fuzhou from foreign countries and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan can benefit from a refund upon purchase policy on taxed goods, with tax refund rates ranging from 8 to 11 percent.
Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, welcomed its first downtown duty-free store on Thursday. [Photo by Yang Jie/for chinadaily.com.cn]
The opening followed a recent circular issued by the Ministry of Commerce and four other departments to refine duty-free policies starting Nov 1. The measures include supporting the sale of domestic goods in duty-free shops and expanding product categories to enhance the appeal of duty-free shopping for inbound and outbound travelers.
Xiu Xinggao, chairman of the Fujian Tourism Development Group, said the group plans to integrate the duty-free store into tourism itineraries and introduce more international brands, and also help Chinese time-honored brands reach a global audience.
