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Shaoxing's GDP rose 17.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the city's statistics bureau announced. This signified strong economic recovery after the city's GDP shrank in the first quarter of 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19, local media outlets reported on April 30.

This year, the Zhejiang province city's GDP reached 143.4 billion yuan ($22.28 billion) in the first quarter of the year, with an average growth rate of 7.2 percent over two years.

"The stellar figure maintained its momentum in the second half of 2020," said a staff member of the statistics bureau. "Most industries are seeing sharp rebounds."

The added value of the primary industry was 3.4 billion yuan, up 2.4 percent year-on-year, the added value of the secondary industry was 62.8 billion yuan, up 24.9 percent, and the added value of the tertiary industry was 77.2 billion yuan, up 12.5 percent.

During the Spring Festival holiday, the local government encouraged residents and migrant workers to spend the holiday in the city, which boosted consumption in Shaoxing.

Large-scale supermarkets, major commercial complexes, fresh food markets, and express outlets remained open as usual during the holiday. They also carried out various consumption promotion activities and issued coupons to residents.

In the first quarter of the year, Shaoxing's total retail sales of social consumer goods climbed by 18.5 percent year-on-year to around 59 billion yuan. Imports and exports were valued at 56.3 billion yuan, up 18.6 percent year-on-year.

In this period, the consumer price index was moderate, only up by 0.9 percent year-on-year, as it was less impacted by global price changes and stayed within the annual price control targets.