Culture and tourism in Shanghai booming during Chinese New Year holiday

Imaginechina

Shanghai has recorded around 6 million tourist visits during the first four days of the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, the city's culture and tourism authorities revealed on Thursday.

Also, the average occupancy rate of local hotels reached 40 percent, up 9 percentage points from last year's holiday season.

Strict measures such as reservations, temperature and health QR code checks, and real-name registration were implemented at cultural and tourist venues across the city during the holiday to curb the spread of COVID-19.

There are disinfectant and hand sanitizer provided on the cultural tourist sites across the city in accordance with pandemic control policies.

The authorities have kept a close eye on the local A-level tourist attractions via a real-time information sharing platform and closely supervised emergency situations during the holiday.

Shanghai has provided over 500 tourist and cultural activities for its residents, such as the lantern exhibition at the famous landmark Yuyuan Garden.

There are 205 kinds of reunion meal sets offered by 81 catering companies in the city.

Some time-honored restaurants provided door-to-door delivery service which met the dining needs of citizens.

The city's hotels also prepared many "special offers," such as hot spring services and afternoon tea for guests.

The high-end minsu, or Chinese B&Bs, in suburban Chongming District have been enjoyed by many people with a booking rate up to 95 percent in the last four days.

The city also prepared a batch of cultural activities such as Spring Festival-themed exhibitions in local museums, public libraries and neighborhood cultural centers as well as movies and live-action role-playing games.

During the holiday, operas and concerts have seen a surge of 35.6 percent in popularity from last year to a total of 136,700 visitors.

Wang Rongjiang / SHINE