Millions of tourists celebrate New Year in Shanghai
Queues at Longhua Temple.
Shanghai recorded 7.18 million visits from tourists during the three-day New Year holiday, up 16.27 percent from the same period a year earlier, the city's cultural and tourism authorities revealed on Monday.
The city reaped a tourism revenue of 11.8 billion yuan (US$1.66 billion), growing 24 percent, and the average occupancy rate of the city's hotels hit 60 percent, up 24 percentage points, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.
The city had prepared an array of activities, from a New Year run and sunrise appreciation to bell ringing and lantern fairs, during the holiday.
The Longhua Temple in Xuhui District, where a bronze bell was rung at midnight on New Year's Eve, welcomed the first inbound tour group of the city in 2024, while an ascent and health run activity was held at the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower on Monday, with people's good wishes for the New Year expressed.
The Adora Magic City sets sail on its maiden commercial voyage on Monday.
People waited for the first ray of sunshine at Jinshanzui Fishing Village in Jinshan District, and dragon-themed activities enriched the holiday at Yuyuan Garden Malls.
Exhibitions such as the "Who is Leonardo da Vinci?" exhibition at Shanghai Museum, and concerts including the 2024 Shanghai New Year Concert by Shanghai Symphony offered a feast for the eyes and ears.
According to online travel review website Mafengwo, Shanghai Disney Resort was the most popular domestic tourist attraction during the holiday, although the fireworks show was canceled on New Year's Eve due to air pollution, followed by Yonghe Palace in Beijing and Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.
Watching a fireworks show or going to a concert were the most popular ways of celebration, and generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2009, led holiday tourists, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, Mafengwo said.
A performance at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park attracts big crowds.
Holiday travelers also enjoyed New Year parties and traditional celebrations during the holiday, it said.
Online travel operator Trip.com said its holiday orders involving domestic destinations surged 168 percent from the same period last year, and the growth was even more significant for outbound destinations, hitting 388 percent.
Customized tours and pet-friendly hotels were gaining popularity, it said.
Meanwhile, bookings for cruises during the holiday soared 231 percent from the same period last month and all tickets for the maiden commercial voyage of China's first domestically built large cruise ship, the Adora Magic City, were sold out on Trip.com, it said.
A large audience enjoyed a midnight concert at Life Hub@Anting.
Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park staged a night parade.
Guyi Garden hosted a bazaar for the new year.
