The Sichuan department of the State Statistics Bureau announced on 15 February that among the 19 large and medium-sized cities in the province, Chengdu, Deyang and Mianyang ranked first, second and third respectively in the league table of consumer spending in 2010. Per capita consumer spending in Chengdu was Rmb20,835, compared with Rmb18,072 in Deyang and Rmb17,187 in Mianyang. Chengdu was the only city in the province where consumer spending per capita exceeded Rmb20,000.

The statistics go on to show that out of every 100 households in Sichuan, there were 95 refrigerators, 96 washing machines, 138 colour televisions and 102 air conditioners at the end of 2010. Statisticians say that private cars were the biggest driving force for consumer spending, very much encouraged by the government’s ‘old-for-new’ policy. There was also a near 20 per cent increase in consumer spending on luxury goods and services in 2010 to Rmb503 per capita. These include jewellery, cosmetics and beauty salon services.