Welcome back for those who were away for the Golden Week, we hope you had a good break. For many Chinese, this year’s national holiday mirrored last year’s tourist apocalypse, on an even grander scale. 480 million Chinese were estimated to travel between October 1 and 7. That’s a cool 13% more than in 2013, growing almost twice as fast as GDP and reflecting Chinese consumers’ increasing affluence and their preference to spend it on experiences such as travel.

China’s state press agency Xinhua has shut down the website of the respected business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, and terminated a ¥3.5 million ($590,000) contract between the agency and the Bank of Communications, after it was exposed for receiving payouts for publishing good news and concealing bad press. It follows other high profile state media corruption cases this year, such as the senior CCTV employees involved in bribery and corruption.

After a strong start, bringing the world the compass, gunpowder, paper, printing, loo paper and arguably football, many would liken China’s recent innovation scene to the Gobi Desert. But scratching the surface a little provides a glimpse of the types of innovations we can expect to see coming from the Mainland over the next few decades, particularly in the consumer tech segment.

Yesterday: 9/9, marked the much-anticipated launch event for the iPhone 6. As the world’s largest smartphone market, Apple is hoping its new phones will attract a healthy share of the expected 420 million smartphone purchases in China this year.

As Chinese consumers are becoming more sophisticated, so are their diets. Increasing awareness of healthy living and food safety issues, coupled with rising affluence is making Chinese more particular about what they eat.

Many websites hosted outside of China are experiencing increasing traffic coming from the Mainland. Although these sites can be optimised for Chinese visitors by providing translations, localised content and familiar payment options, they will only ever win a tiny share of China’s rising consumers’ spending.

The Chinese Government have a dream, and businesses that align with that dream are well placed to prosper.

Few industries are a barometer for what consumers consider to be “cool” quite like the fashion industry. Over the past 12-18 months, some interesting fashion trends have been occurring in China that are worth taking note of.

A poor environment, unsafe food and unhealthy urban lifestyles are only partly to blame for Chinese consumers’ soaring health concerns. One of their most pressing worries is the state health system.

It wasn’t long ago that many Chinese consumers considered KFC’s greasy chicken drumsticks to be a good healthy meal. The assurance of safe Western preparation standards and quality control processes had diners confident that they were less likely to fall ill than eating at a local restaurant.

Every other week, there’s a report of a new WeChat feature allowing businesses to advertise or sell to the 400 million+ active monthly users on the service.

Australia has long been known for its stunning beaches, peculiar marsupials, the Opera House and a big red rock. But now Australia has become recognised as the most welcoming country for Chinese tourists according to the 2014 Hotels.com tourism report. With 39% of those surveyed considering Australia a welcoming country, it was streets ahead of the number 2 placed country Singapore at 29%. The French, not known for their politeness, came in as the top European destination tying for third with the South Koreans and loveable Kiwis at 28%. Asian destinations are perceived as the most welcoming overall to Chinese earning four of the top-10 spots, in light of some political tensions.

Last December many applauded the Chinese Government’s liberalisation of its one-child policy, which allowed most families in China to have two children for the first time in 35 years. As a result, we have seen many businesses ramp up their forecasts and investments to cater for the anticipated boom – Shanghai’s Disneyland development, which added $800 million to its budget, was one of them.

For some, Batman is a selfless hero fighting to keep evil from Gotham City. Yet, according to China’s Communist Party mouthpiece the Global Times, the Caped Crusader is a vehicle for American skulldugery, grouped in with the CIA, an American think tank and pro-democracy NGO, and said to be responsible for the current troubles in Hong Kong.

Although eCommerce is going gangbusters in China – Tmall sales grew 90% last year – one of its key challenges is logistics. According to GLP, it costs twice as much to deliver a parcel in China as in the USA, even with China’s lower wages.

If China’s polluted air and water supply wasn’t doing enough to bring on heart disease and other illnesses, there’s a another scourge that’s stepping in – the bulge.

Few activities excite Chinese more than browsing the latest boots and blazers at the mall or on their mobile. Even as tourists, shopping continues to be the top motivator for going abroad, accounting for 30% of the trips’ total expenditure.

With the Football World Cup beginning tomorrow, many Chinese will have their eyes on Brazil. Despite the fellow BRIC’s time zone being 10-13 hours behind China’s, CCTV is banking on a bumper of a tournament and a massive 530 million Chinese are expected to follow it online according to iResearch.