Bank card transactions reached 22.2 billion yuan (US$2.74 billion) in China during the National Day holiday from October 1 to 7, up 52 percent over the same period last year.

Figures released Tuesday by China UnionPay showed that about 5.6 million cross-bank card transactions took place during the holiday, up 37 percent year on year.

As bank cards and credit cards issued by China UnionPay could be used in Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, card consumption by mainland tourists in these regions and nations hit a historical high during the holiday. A total of more than 150,000 transactions amounted to 460 million yuan.

Credit and bank card transactions in Hong Kong and Macao increased by 73 percent over the previous National Day holiday, with the transaction volume up 152 percent.

Compared with the May Day holiday from May 1 to 7 this year, the Chinese card transactions in Singapore, Thailand and South Korea grew 75 percent and consumption volume grew 78 percent during the National Day holiday.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2005)