Chinese gold jewelry stores saw their sales boom during the Spring Festival holiday, with young people born in the 1990s becoming the main consumer group, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

(Photo/CCTV.com)

Sales of gold jewelry soared during the week-long holiday, especially on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day. Staff at jewelry counters had their hands so full with customers on the day that it was impossible to provide one-to-one service.

Data from a third-party organization indicated that the daily average volume of customers in 22 key business districts of Beijing, including Wangfujing and Xidan, jumped nearly 90 percent during the holiday, according to the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau. Traffic on Baiguang Road, where the city's famous jewelry brand Caibai Jewelry Store is located, was so jammed at one point that it took at least one hour for consumers to enter the parking area.

Sales of Caibai’s gold jewelry series based on the ox, the second sign in the Chinese zodiac cycle, increased 2.9 times during the holiday, according to data from the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.

This year, several gold jewelry brands have collaborated with Chinese museums, such as the Palace Museum and the National Museum, to create gold jewelry products with special designs and rich cultural meaning.

People born after 1990 are becoming the major buyers of gold jewelry carrying elements of traditional Chinese culture. Statistics from one institution showed that the number of transactions made by consumers under 25 years old accounted for 24 percent of the total, while the trading volume by those aged between 26 and 35 was 30 percent of the total.

During the holiday, a 28-year-old bride-to-be bought several pieces of gold jewelry worth 73,000 yuan (about $11,286) for her upcoming wedding, saying that she prefers gold jewelry because of its different styles and gold’s appeal as a safe store of value.