South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been promoting a large shopping carnival with Alibaba Group, China's e-commerce giant, to celebrate the traditional Sanyuesan Festival and stimulate consumption amid the novel coronavirus epidemic.

From March 26 to May 26, Guangxi will issue consumer coupons worth over 100 million yuan ($14.1 million) through Alipay, the online payment arm of Alibaba Group and the popular mobile wallet app. Each shopping card voucher is valued at 268 yuan, covering consumption areas like food and beverage, shopping, hotels, scenic spots, as well as bus travel. Consumers can enjoy discounts on eating, buying, living, and travelling with the coupons.

People who have been residents in Guangxi in the past three months or are now in Guangxi have the opportunity to receive shopping card vouchers.

Consumers who travel to Guangxi can also enjoy different levels of concessions through travel platforms like travel agencies and Feizhu, Alibaba's travel portal.

The consumer coupons measure aims to boost consumer confidence and promote consumer replenishment, thereby helping Guangxi's total retail sales of consumer goods recover. According to statistics, a set of activities in the shopping carnival is expected to benefit 300,000 stores in Guangxi.

In the future, Guangxi will carry out online sale of specialty products on e-commerce platforms like Taobao, Juhuashun, and 1688.com to expand traditional sales channels.