The debut economy in southwest China's Sichuan is drawing crowds of consumers and powering new consumption for the province.
The debut economy refers to economic activities covering the release of a new product, rollout of a new business format, model, service or technology, and the opening of the very first store by a company.

Fresh figures from Sichuan's commerce department show that in the first three quarters of this year the province welcomed 763 brands to open their first stores. More than 80 percent of them chose Chengdu, keeping the provincial capital firmly among the top debut cities in China.
These debut retail locations have been attracting plenty of attention from consumers, including tourists who made room in their travel plans to stop by the shops.

"I heard this is their first store in the world, so I'm here to check it out," said Li Hairong, a tourist.

"I kind of made a special trip to this store," said Gan Junjie, another tourist.

The centrepiece of Chengdu's debut drive is Dongjiao Memory, once a state-run factory with brick chimneys and assembly halls kept intact and turned into a hybrid cultural park mixing retail, music, art and food.

In 2024, Dongjiao Memory attracted 17 million visitors and generated 3 billion yuan (about 424 million in U.S. dollars) in total revenue. It is now home to over 90 debut stores and hosts colorful activities including fairs, shows and exhibitions every weekend.

"The Arte Museum and the Three-Body Problem exhibition are both examples of our debut exhibitions. We also have music venues where many concerts are available," said Zhou Chengjie, a staff member of Dongjiao Memory.

Across town, Chengdu has built a string of 'debut venues'. In the Hi-tech Zone, the twin towers commercial space, which opened less than two months ago, has already hosted over 10 debut events.

"We've set up the Chengdu debut economy service center, opened the country's first debut economy development center in Jinjiang District, and guided our local business association to establish an association for promoting founder-led brands. The result is a connected and collaborated network that gets every launch off the ground faster," said Zhu Jun, deputy chief of market development at the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Commerce.