A family at the Ditan Temple Fair in Beijing during the Spring Festival. [Photo by Da Wei/China Daily]

Hao Hai took his wife and daughter to Tokyo on a nine-day trip during the Spring Festival holiday.

It was the first time he and his family had traveled overseas during the festival.

The convenient visa procedure influenced his decision.

He got his visa two weeks after he submitted his documents on China's biggest e-commerce website, Taobao.

The family left with two suitcases and returned with three.

"We bought a new one there to pack the stuff we picked up," he says.

The family went to the Mitsui Outlet Park in Kisarazu and to Takeya for clothes, cosmetics and food.

They spent roughly 50,000 yuan ($7,660) on the trip, with 30,000 yuan on shopping.

The rest went for five-star hotels and airplane tickets.