Tourism festival taps city's youthful energy

A variety of cultural and tourism activities such as intangible cultural heritage displays and bazaars will roll out across the city in the following 10 days as the splendor of the 2020 Shanghai Tourism Festival continues, city authorities announced on Thursday. 

From September 22, 100 young people will be chosen to experience 15 tourist routes in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region. 

"These routes cover sports, arts and immersive experiences and are designed by young teams. Those recruited will record their experiences and release them on platforms such as Bilibili, Meituan Dianping and Douyin to promote the city's charm," said Ding Bo, an official with the Shanghai Communist Youth League. 

"They are expected to ignite the city with their youth power and promote Shanghai's cultural landmarks and tourist routes in a fresh way,” said Ding. 

The activity will run through October 18 and the most popular attractions and tourist routes among youngsters will be released via public voting, said Ding. 

More than 10,000 young people will be organized to experience these routes as well. 

"Data found that those born after 1990 accounted for more than 50 percent of tourists during the May Day holiday. They have strong travel demand and are flexible with their time," said Ding. 

The event aims to get youngsters involved in the festival, display the young power of Shanghai and promote the city, he said. 

Monthlong intangible cultural heritage activities will be held at Shanghai Great World (Dashijie) in Huangpu District from September 24, the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism announced.

Traditional Chinese opera performances will be staged and intangible cultural heritages such as gold and silver embroidery and New Year's woodblock prints will be displayed. 

Suburban parks in the city will jointly host various activities to enrich the tour experiences of residents and tourists and enable them to get close to nature. 

At the Pujiang Countryside Park in Minhang District, jazz performances, flower arrangement art, a food market, a haipai (Shanghai-style) culture and innovation market and a fashion show will run from September 20 to October 6.

A cheongsam show, garden concert, autumn flower exhibition, dinosaur fossil exhibition and night garden market are also on the agenda.

The Changxing Island Countryside Park will host a tourism culture and art festival between September 25 and mid-October, while the Jiabei Countryside Park will be the venue for a straw culture festival. 

Light shows and cycling events will be held at Langxia Countryside Park in Jinshan District. 

"Via these activities, we hope urban dwellers will enjoy the beauty of the co-existence of human and nature," said Cheng Meihong, deputy director of the bureau. 

A number of shopping tourist routes will be released on September 19 and walking tours along the Suzhou Creek will be organized on September 20.

"Autumn is a beautiful season and the annual festival adds a splash of color to it," said Shanghai resident Xia Xiaoyu. 

"The festival has a history dating to my childhood and its theme song is too familiar to Shanghainese. I have very good memory of it."

The tourism festival will run through September 27.