TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The closing ceremony for the annual Taichung Shopping Festival was held Friday.

Taichung Mayor Liu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) presided over the event, and also drew the winner of a raffle for a new apartment in Beitun District. An individual surnamed Huang (黃) won the newly furnished dwelling valued at NT$10 million (US$316,000), reported UDN.

Huang, a resident of Taichung’s Nantun District, spent NT$7,457 (US$235) and registered his uniform invoice number online through the Taichung Pass app. Huang received a phone call Friday informing him that he is now the owner of a home in the Junfu Development of Beitun District.

Liu said that she was worried about the success of the shopping festival due to US tariffs dampening consumer activity. Instead, there was the highest rate of participation since the festival began in 2019, per UDN.

Consumer spending during this year’s festival topped NT$37.4 billion (US$1.1 billion), with average daily purchases across Taichung reaching over NT$600 million. Liu said the event was a major boost to Taiwan’s national economic output last year.

Taichung Shopping Festival is an annual campaign to boost local economic activity and runs from late October to December. Using the Taichung City Pass smartphone app to register purchases made at businesses throughout Taichung, shoppers can increase their chances of winning prizes in raffles.

This year, over 260,000 stores participated, with over 30,000 special offers made to promote the festival. Over 3.1  million people downloaded the TCPASS app to participate.