Duty-free shopping enriches people’s lives in Hainan

Two new duty-free shopping malls were opened in Hainan earlier this year, further kindling people's enthusiasm for shopping and bring fun experiences to their lives. Li Yanxuan and Wei Yuyi, two Hainan residents that were born in the 1990s, shared their stories about duty-free shopping and its development in their home province.

Tourists shop in the duty-free shop of Haikou Meilan International Airport. [Photo by Zhang Mao/hinews.cn]

"I'm almost addicted to it," said Li, who was born in Haikou, Hainan in 1993. She even joined a WeChat group which releases all the latest information on discounts and promotional activities. It has been six years since she first went into duty-free shops in the summer of 2012, when she was about to fly to another province and start college.

"I bought two bags of chocolate at that time," she said, recalling that in the duty-free shop of Haikou Meilan International Airport, "they just sold some stuff like cosmetics, perfume, and food, much less than what they sell today."

Back in August 2012, the limit of duty-free shopping per person each time hadn't been raised from 5,000 yuan ($726.50) to its current limit of 8,000 yuan, and some merchandise could only be bought once each time.

Overseas Chinese select radio cassettes at  the duty-free shop in Haikou Huaqiao building in 1987. [Photo by Huang Yiming/hinews.cn]

"I was not that fond of duty-free shopping, but then I got used to bringing some gifts for my friends when I headed back school from vacations," Li said, adding that she now buys most of her cosmetics from duty-free shops.

For Wei, duty-free shopping is also part of his life. Now 22 years old, he is a cashier working in a duty-free shop in Haikou. While he studied to be a flight attendant, he chose to work in a duty-free shop due to his interest and the opportunities offered when he graduated.

When the news of the opening of two duty-free shopping zones went viral on local people's social network, customers flooded into Wei's shop. He can complete all the procedures of a customer's purchase within two minutes. "This is my work and my life," he said. "Only by getting familiar with working procedures can we be fully prepared to provide better services for our customers."