Wang's shopping mania is shared with many of her fellow Shanghaiese. Last year's figure from a travel agency shows that the average consumption of Shanghai's shopping tourists was 40,000 yuan (US$4,820).

Insiders in Shanghai say that Shanghai has nurtured a new consumption group who go for international brands but who still want to find goods deals.

Wang, who did not give her full name, said the Christmas holiday in Hong Kong was a prime time for discount shopping and one big shopping trip would compensate the travel expenditure.

Shanghai-based Eastern Airlines alone offers 20 flights every day from Shanghai to Hong Kong and the airline said from Dec. 19 to 23, all flights to Hong Kong were at over 80 percent capacity.

The Macau route of the airline also benefited by the Shanghaiese shopping mania.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong express train running every other day also reported an increase of passengers during the holiday.

Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar new year, is a month away and travel agencies have received hot booking for trips to southeast Asia of Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam and Europe, Australia and the United States.

(eastday.com December 30, 2002)