Tourism festival has something for everyone

The Shanghai Tourism Festival, in its 31st version, will feature activities that include cycling, cruises, light shows and culture festivals and tourists and residents will be invited to experience 102 tourism routes and products during the festival from September 12 to 27, the city's tourism authorities announced on Thursday.

Some cultural, business and tourism venues on the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall will open to midnight on September 12 to mark the opening of the festival, the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism announced.

Tourist attractions and business areas such as Shanghai Disney Resort, Lujiazui, Yuyuan Garden, Xintiandi and Xujiahui will host nighttime activities on the day, the administration said.

The opening ceremony will be held on the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall at 7:30pm on September 12, during which a "cloud tourism" platform for the festival will be launched.

The ceremony will last 20 minutes and mark the opening of the east extension of Nanjing Road E., originally built in 1851 as one of the city's first modern roads at the time.

A parade of floats, a festival tradition, will not be held this year.

Cycling and cruise tours along the Huangpu River are among the activities on offer.

"These activities enable cyclists and cruise travelers to experience the essence of the Huangpu River tourism and display the glamour of the city," said Yu Xiufen, director of the administration.

Countryside parks will host various events.

The Pujiang Countryside Park in Minhang District will stage fashion, culture and art activities and parent-children carnivals, while the Changxing Island Countryside Park will host an industrial tourism and culture festival and an art festival.

The Jiabei Countryside Park in Jiading District will present a straw culture festival and the Langxia Countryside Park in Jinshan District will showcase tubu clothes (homespun clothes) and stage light shows.

A one-day pass blending businesses on the Nanjing Rd E., cultural venues and tourist attractions will be issued, and a variety of shopping and tourism routes will be released to boost consumption, the administration said.

A cruise and yacht tourism festival, a coffee culture festival and a tea culture festival are also on the agenda. A music festival will be hosted at Xintiandi.

For the first time, there will be sub-venues in the Yangtze River Delta region, involving Nantong in Jiangsu Province, Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province and Huangshan in Anhui Province.

A tour route from Shanghai to Yucun Village in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, will be released.

"It aims to promote cross-city tour products and routes in the Yangtze River Delta region and lift the influence of the festival," said Yu.

Young tourists will be invited to shoot short videos to promote novel and fashionable ways to travel the city, and intangible cultural heritage traditional opera performances and craft displays will be held at Shanghai Great World, also known as Dashijie.

The “cloud tourism" platform will be launched for the first time in the festival's history, enabling people to experience the charm of the city and festival activities with simple clicks, the administration said.

Strict pandemic prevention measures will be in operating during the festival.

"As precautions against the pandemic, the duration and scale of activities for this year's festival will be controlled," Yu said.

Most activities will be held outdoors and last within 45 minutes, the administration said. All participants will be required to keep a distance of over one meter from each other.

They will be required to show their health QR code and have their temperature checked.