The surging popularity of the restaurant, which was founded in 1993 and specialises in traditional Shanghai cuisine, came as fans of the series have been flocking to the landmarks, indulging in the cuisine, and buying the clothes featured in the show.

The spending spree set off by the show – which details the lives of Shanghainese people in the early days of China’s economic rise – epitomises how local culture and domestic products are increasingly driving consumption in the country at a time when retail choices have begun to shift away from the long-time pursuit of international brands, according to economic observers.

More than ever, the world’s second-biggest economy is looking to domestic spending to generate growth that has been suppressed by weak external demand, subdued investor confidence and an ailing property sector.

And tourism can be a big driver of such spending, as evidenced by the 40th annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. Millions of people have already descended on the cultural and economic hub since last month, with record numbers seen over the New Year’s holiday.

Amid frigid temperatures well below freezing, spending has heated up.

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“In the past, a lot of our purchasing power went to big foreign brands, but after a few decades of development, Chinese consumers are getting more and more mature,” said professor Shi Lei with Fudan University’s School of Economics.

“The domestic market has expanded, and we’ve created a lot of good stuff of our own, so why not spend on them instead,” he said.

But these types of transient booms seen in Shanghai and Harbin are not enough to sustain a rise in consumption. China needs to tap into the spending potential nationwide to meet the diversified demands of consumers, and in particular, to stimulate spending on big-ticket items such as home appliances and automobiles, Shi said.

With a low base of comparison from 2022, when pandemic lockdowns were frequently imposed, China’s retail sales saw an increase of 7.2 per cent, year on year, in 2023, according to the bureau’s latest figures. And they rose by 7.4 per cent in December from the same period a year prior.

A big part of that came from the rise of home-grown brands that weave Chinese cultural elements into their design or branding, covering a range of categories, from cosmetics to food.

Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Centre for Economics and Business at The Conference Board, said that multinational companies in China are facing increasing competition from domestic firms as “Chinese have become pickier consumers and more focused on value-for-money spending”.

“This is not surprising: the lower the prices, the more alternatives [in goods and services] that consumers can choose from. Many of these alternatives are provided by Chinese brands,” he said.

Aside from Tai Sheng Yuan restaurant, director Wang’s latest show has helped boost business at the Fairmont Peace Hotel, a Shanghai landmark on The Bund for nearly a century.

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The hotel’s English Suite, a 178-square-metre (1,916-sq-ft) suite facing the Huangpu River where the show’s protagonist stayed, is largely booked through the end of February, according to online travel agency Ctrip. While the rates for normal days are set at 18,888 yuan (US$2,624) per night, it is priced at 22,888 a night during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.

Roadside snack shops on Huanghe Road, where many of the scenes in Blossoms Shanghai are set, are also riding the tide, with those offering braised pork ribs with rice cakes – a local Shanghai snack repeatedly depicted in the show – seeing long queues each day.

“We’ve been seeing so many customers for the past couple of weeks. Even my business has doubled,” said a grocery store owner surnamed Tan.

Zhang Yulin, a Shanghai-based white-collar worker in her thirties, said that the street was bustling with different kinds of visitors, young and old, locals and tourists, when she visited it on Sunday.

“For young consumers, especially those born in the 1990s and 2000s, their values are changing. Their faith in local culture is getting stronger,” she said.

“Instead of pursuing international brands, they’re more willing to pay for what makes really good artwork and what they like. They’re not only paying, but also sharing and promoting,” she said.

He Jianmin, a professor of tourism management at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said the latest fad surrounding the show suggests that China could take greater advantage of its diverse cultures to boost spending.

“Take Shanghai, for example – it is too narrow-minded to just promote its revolutionary history,” he said, referring to the city being publicised by authorities as the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party.

“At the same time, it is a mecca for adventurers, and a legendary place for different people, as shown in the series,” he said. “Diversification is very important.”

Additional reporting by Kandy Wong