The current week-long National Holiday in China, which began on Monday, has led to a boom in the catering sector in Beijing.

Statistics given by the municipal bureau of commerce on Thursday showed sales of catering trade in the national capital soared by 60 percent to hit 45.62 million yuan (about US$6.52 million) in the first three days of the National Holiday Season.

The catering sector achieved 17.47 million yuan in volume of business on Wednesday, the day for the 59th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), 2.1 million yuan more than the previous day or an increase of 64.1 percent than a year ago.

The municipal bureau of commerce said it had monitored 237 restaurants owned by 37 key catering enterprises in Beijing, and some specialized markets such as those for wholesale of farm produce since Monday. Sales of these restaurants and markets stood at 480 million yuan, up 12.2 percent from a year ago.

Five time-honored restaurants and their franchises -- Kaorouji, Quanjude, Donglaishun, Hongbinlou and Bianyifang -- all saw their daily volumes of business doubled in the past days of the holiday season.

This year's National Holiday Season will close on Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency October 3, 2008)