In the first half of this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Qingdao reached 256.65 billion yuan (about $38 billion), ranking second among cities in northern China, with a year-on-year growth of 1 percent. It was the only northern city with positive growth among the country's 15 sub-provincial cities.

Qingdao spurs expansion of consumption. [Photo/Guanhai News]

Behind the hard-won growth is Qingdao's continuous expansion of consumption, said officials from the municipal bureau of commerce.

The city has come up with more policy measures to boost consumption, which are key growth drivers. Specific projects have been launched, including those focusing on new consumption landmarks, new brands, digital consumption and the development of cultural, tourism, sports, education and medical consumption.

In recent years, Qingdao has been striving to become a high-end consumption gathering place on the Shandong Peninsula and North China. It has built State-level blocks serving tourism and leisure and cultivated famous online scenic spots and blocks catering to young people.

Starbucks has more than 60 stores in Qingdao, ranking first in the province. Hema Fresh, a fresh produce supermarket, has set up eight branches and one outlet in the city, ranking second in northern China for number of stores. Over 300 flagship stores of brands from home and abroad have opened in Qingdao.

The city has also strengthened efforts to promote consumption upgrades as new types of consumption continue to grow, such as online shopping and other online services, providing more momentum for economic growth.

In the first half of the year, the online retail sales of Qingdao reached 94.9 billion yuan, accounting for 33 percent of the province's total, ranking first in Shandong, with a year-on-year growth of 29.2 percent.

Since the beginning of this year, Qingdao has been ramping up efforts to implement a package of stimulus measures, like boosting the sales of big-ticket items like automobiles and home appliances, so as to further unleash consumption potential.

Sales of household appliances from Haier, Hisense, and AUCMA have surpassed 1.2 billion yuan this year in Qingdao thanks to consumption vouchers.

Up to now, 399.03 million yuan of auto vouchers have been issued in Qingdao, which amounts to 8.45 billion yuan of auto sales.