The main shopping areas in Baotou city -- in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region -- has seen a rise in the number of shoppers after the municipal government on May 18 called for more discounts and promotional activities to stimulate buying, according to local officials.

But they said that at the same time the shopping areas were staying vigilant and were continuing to enforce strict novel coronavirus epidemic prevention and control measures.

Hosted by the commerce bureau of Baotou, a 100-day promotional event is being backed by supporting policies and involves nine industry sectors: shopping, catering, cultural tourism, real estate, home improvements, building materials, sports, automobiles, refined oil and agriculture.

Officials said each sector has put together a number of themed promotional programs and plans based on the characteristics of each industry.

For example, in the shopping section, more themed promotional activities are to be staged while in the catering section, themed activities are being encouraged to stimulate the night market.

Meanwhile, the cultural tourism sector is encouraging cultural tourism enterprises such as star-rated hotels, travel agencies, scenic spots and museums to carry out preferential promotions and offer free admission.