China's consumption saw a conspicuous upturn in the first quarter of the year, official data showed Friday, as the economy staged a stellar turnaround from the COVID-19 fallout in the previous year.

The country's first-quarter social retail sales soared 33.9 percent year-on-year to 10.52 trillion yuan ($1.61 trillion), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The reading was up 1.86 percent from the previous quarter. 

Graphic: Deng Zijun/GT

In March alone, social retail sales jumped 34.2 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate quickening 0.4 percentage points from the reading for the first two months.

The shining figure was part of a slew of economic indicators announced Friday. The Chinese economy recorded an 18.3 percent expansion in the first quarter.

A breakdown of the consumption reading shows urban consumable retail sales were up 34.6 percent in the first quarter from the year before, while rural retail sales rose by 29.4 percent.

In specifics, catering revenues skyrocketed 75.8 percent to 1.06 trillion yuan in the first quarter, while retail sales of consumer goods raked in a 30.4 percent growth. 

Notably, online retail sales registered a 29.9 percent increase in the first quarter, according to the NBS statistics.