FUZHOU, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- In the ancient fishing village of Xunpu in Quanzhou, east China's Fujian Province, 71-year-old Huang Bailan has been practicing Zanhua -- the intangible cultural heritage of crafting colorful floral headdresses -- since a young age.

What began as a local tradition has grown into an economic lifeline. In 2015, Huang and her daughter opened a shop offering Zanhua styling, makeup and photography services for visitors. Once dependent on selling seafood, the family has since doubled their income by turning heritage into a thriving cultural venture.

The popularity of Zanhua has also sparked a broader economic transformation. The village now boasts nearly 300 similar shops, attracting as many as 20,000 visitors per day. This boom has not only created jobs but also fueled growth in related industries such as cultural innovation, catering and homestay accommodations.

Xunpu's transition from a quiet fishing village to a bustling tourist hotspot reflects a larger trend fueling China's service consumption boom. As the country promotes consumption to bolster economic growth, services -- including culture and tourism, elderly care, and home services -- are increasingly becoming major components of household spending with significant growth potential.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China's service consumption entered a phase of rapid expansion. From 2020 to 2024, average annual growth in household service consumption expenditure reached 9.6 percent, according to official data.

Policymakers have recently ramped up efforts to spur spending in the service sector through measures such as vouchers for catering, tourism and sports events, as well as interest subsidies for loans to service businesses.

Li Bin, founder and CEO of Home King, a Xiamen-based home service platform, noted that these policy incentives will help support product innovation to meet diversifying consumer demand.

While high-quality housekeeping services established the company's reputation, it has since expanded beyond just cleaning. Li said the company is now developing new offerings, including at-home pet bathing and annual subscription plans for home repairs.

"We see enormous growth potential in home services, which are transitioning from a luxury to a necessity for Chinese households," Li added.

Although rising demand has fueled the emergence of numerous O2O housekeeping platforms, Li remains unfazed by the competition.

"True competitiveness lies in creating new users and new demand," he said, noting how some local tailoring shops have transformed into creative spaces where young people bring their clothes to be customized and personalized with a modern fashion twist.

According to Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping, the main challenge in China's service consumption landscape is the insufficient supply of high-quality services.

To address the issue, the ministry will continue to expand the opening-up of the service sector and broaden pilot initiatives in areas such as telecommunications, healthcare and education to boost the supply of quality services.

Sheng added that next month, the ministry will introduce new policies to promote service consumption, leveraging fiscal and financial tools to enhance service supply capacity and stimulate new growth momentum. ■