Shanghai saw a booming tourism market over the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday that ended on Monday, with 200 events taking place across the city, from quiet moments browsing exhibitions to spirited Dragon Boat Festival race celebrations.
According to the Shanghai Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, 7.6152 million tourists visited the city during the holiday period, up 13.24 percent from the same period last year.
Ti Gong
A showcase of homemade rice dumplings, a specialty of the Kanabashi area.
Average occupancy rate for local hotels increased three percentage points to 58 percent.
Major local tourist sites saw 3.16 million visitors, up 37 percent from the same period last year, while 152 museums saw 380,000 visitors, up 30 percent.
During the holiday, the Bund, Yuyuan Garden Scenic Area and the central Lujiazui area attracted 2.068 million tourists, up 32.15 percent from last year. In addition, 447 performances were held throughout the city, attracting an audience of 412,000.
Ti Gong
Children show off their dance moves at Shanghai International Automobile City’s Life Hub@Anting.
Over the holidays, Shanghai hosted a cultural feast, with exhibitions such as “All That Glitters: Chinese Cloisonné as a Gift from the Collection of Robert Chang” at the Shanghai Museum and “An Immersive Display of Chinese Shadow Puppetry” at the Shanghai World Expo Museum.
The former displayed 46 cloisonné pieces, including furniture, daily necessities and stationery dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), while the latter was a feast of light and shadow, inviting visitors to travel back in time to the world of ancient Chinese mythology.
Ti Gong
Walking around Xuhui during the holidays
During the festival, people enjoyed traditional Chinese culture and the festive atmosphere, and “return to tradition” became an important catchphrase.
The districts of Songjiang, Baoshan and Qingpu held thrilling dragon boat races and cultural festivals to attract visitors, as well as various activities to promote exquisite items of China’s intangible cultural heritage.
Ti Gong
Dragon boat races on the Shangdao River in Qingpu.
During the holiday period, Wanping Theatre hosted the 2024 Intangible Cultural Heritage and Peking Opera Fair, combining Guochao (Chinese style) handmade crafts, Peking opera salons, films, coffee workshops and more.
A Dragon Boat Festival bazaar was held at the Life Hub@Anting in Shanghai International Automobile City, where people wore Hanfu (traditional Chinese Han ethnic costume) and enjoyed rice dumpling and dragon boat rowing games.
Ti Gong
Float parade at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park.
The bazaar also featured an exhibition of intangible cultural heritage.
The Scented Bag Cultural Festival at Guyuan Garden, the shadow puppet show at Kuki Future Arts Centre and the trendy Cultural Bazaar at The Inlet further enriched the holiday experience for residents and tourists.
At Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, animals were treated to festival must-try dishes such as ice cream dumplings and sticky rice balls, which were specially made for them.
Ti Gong
Enjoy the fun of chimaki at Jinqiao.
The seals were fed dumplings made from capelin and ice, while dumplings stuffed with herring or salmon were a favourite of the sea lions.
During the holiday, fireworks displays were held in the park, and people learned how to weave bamboo and make perfume bags at the bazaar.
Trip.com, a Chinese global travel service company, said bookings for tours to Japan during the holiday period surged 115 percent compared to the same period last year, with the majority of visitors coming from the United States, Britain, Australia, South Korea and Malaysia. Shanghai was the most popular domestic destination for visitors to Japan during the holiday period, the company said.
Ti Gong
These rice dumplings are unique to the festival at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park.
Ti Gong
Fireworks display at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park.
