The people must be encouraged to shop at home

Millions of noisy mainlanders headed home after the Lunar New Year break laden with suitcases that bulged with goods ranging from cans of milk powder to luxury leather bags, delivering bumper sales for retailers and hoteliers from Hong Kong to New York to Sydney. Not everyone was happy about the influx of the mainland tourists, though.

In Hong Kong, there are fears that the rapid rise in mainland arrivals has stretched the city's hotel and tourism facilities to breaking point, with one legislator already calling for a cap on the number of visitors from across the border.

But the visitors' sheer spending power is transforming the tourism industry worldwide. Not only do they spend big on luxury items but also on necessities such as shampoo and baby formula.

According to some estimates, Chinese tourists spent US$85 billion abroad last year. Most could more accurately be described as shoppers, as getting a taste of foreign culture often involves nothing more than taking pictures at a landmark before rushing off to a department store or factory outlet.

One anecdote tells of a young Chinese woman who gave birth in the United States so her child could gain American citizenship, then bought everything the child would need in the first five years - from clothing to toys to milk powder - before shipping them back home.

"Everything is much cheaper than at home" is a constant refrain from mainlanders on their overseas shopping sprees.

It is ironic that while China is the world's factory, mainlanders always have to pay more for products made in their own backyard. Over the past few years, ordinary mainlanders and state media have begun to question why this should be so - especially considering that the average mainlander earns far less than most other consumers overseas.