A local entrepreneur shares his insights into industrial growth at the Shanxi Summit on High-Quality Retail Industry Development. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Although two months have passed since the Spring Festival holiday, a festive atmosphere is still being felt at the Shanxi Guild House, a restaurant in the provincial capital of Taiyuan.

It is known for its daoxiaomian – or knife-cutting noodle – and other noodle varieties with Shanxi's characteristics. The outlet was filled with diners on a mid-March day, who were treated to knife-cutting noodles and performances that included folk songs and local opera.

However, Xiao Zhang, a master cook at the restaurant, was the most popular performer. Balancing a huge bowl of flour on his head and hauling a single-wheel cart equipped with a stove and pot, his presence aroused cheers and applause among diners.

With all the equipment in place, he began to cut strips of noodles with his hands. After one minute, a serving of noodles was ready.

"We are glad to welcome back diners after a three-year pandemic," said a manager of the restaurant. "We try to offer the best food and entertainment to our customers."

He said many catering outlets in Taiyuan have been filled with "revenge-spending" customers for the past two months after the government optimized pandemic control measures. "Seat occupancy nowadays has exceeded the level of the same period in 2019," he added.

"Revenge spending" is now the catchword of Shanxi's service industry that includes tourism, hospitality and retail, and shows the fast recovery of consumer confidence.

Industry insiders said the recovery began before the pandemic response level adjustment. They believe the measures that governments at all levels in Shanxi began to implement in 2022 bucked an economic slowdown and laid a foundation for this year's rapid growth.

Those feelings correspond to figures released by the Shanxi Department of Commerce.

In the automobile sales industry, for instance, the department said it granted a subsidy worth 649 million yuan ($94.23 million) for the sale of vehicles in 2022, which resulted in total sales revenue of 16.06 billion yuan.

For the retail industry, the government issued digital consumption coupons worth 2.51 billion yuan, which led to total sales revenue of 26.84 billion yuan in 2022.

Other measures taken by the government to stimulate the consumer market in the past year included fostering the nighttime economy, promoting e-commerce and cultivating and strengthening renowned local brands.

Wang Hongjin, head of the department, said that the government's stimulative measures will continue this year and more initiatives will be taken to boost the consumer market.

The department and the Shanxi Association of Retailers hosted the first Shanxi Summit on High-Quality Retail Industry Development in Taiyuan on March 8-9, inviting entrepreneurs and experts to give their proposals for the development of the retail sector as well as the entire service industry.

At the summit, participants said there should be new efforts to upgrade the service industry toward the direction of high-quality and efficient development.

The efforts should include strengthened brand building, the application of digital technologies and innovating operational models.

Yan Jie contributed to this story.