"Hengqin Happy Shopping" coupons totaling 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) are being offered tourists through year end to accelerate the recovery of catering, retailing, and tourism from the recent pandemic variant.

The Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, which is also Hengqin International Leisure Tourism Island, began offering the coupons at 10 am July 22 on WeChat account "文旅橫琴" (ID: passearporhengqin) as part of several efforts to stimulate consumption. 

After real-name authentication, mobile users located in Zhuhai, Zhongshan City, Tanzhou Town, or Sanxiang Township can get three vouchers on a first-come basis each week worth up to 400 yuan ($59) at platforms like WeChat Pay and UnionPay "QuickPass." 

Discounts of 20 yuan ($3), 40 yuan ($6), 80 yuan ($12), 120 yuan ($18), and 200 yuan ($30) can be used for offline payments at about 500 businesses throughout Hengqin if the actual expense of a single purchase meets the threshold. The coupons are valid seven days. About 500 merchants use on-site deductions for WeChat Pay and UnionPay "QuickPass."

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom [Photo courtesy WeChat account: hengqinzaixian2021]

From Wednesday, July 27, visitors may search Ctrip for "Hengqin products" and Meituan for "2022 Hengqin consumer coupons" to receive Cooperation Zone discounts. Ctrip will give a 50 percent discount when booking Hengqin hotels and 30 percent off at scenic spots up to 300 yuan. Meituan consumer coupons will cover hotels, tickets, takeaways, and in-store catering.

The Cooperation Zone recently released the pandemic-response measures to help local market entities shake off impact of the latest COVID-19 wave. With the stimulations, new hotspots for consumption are anticipated in Hengqin.