Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Shanghai welcomes surging int'l tourists during Spring Festival holiday

China

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration -:-
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
Â
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
      China

      China

      Shanghai welcomes surging int'l tourists during Spring Festival holiday

      2025-01-30 19:01 Last Updated At:19:37

      As the Chinese people are celebrating the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, they have been joined this year by an increasing number of foreign tourists flocking to iconic landmarks, scenic spots and shopping venues to experience Chinese culture following the implementation of a new visa-free transit policy.

      China continued easing its visa policies in 2024 to boost openness and people-to-people exchanges, allowing more foreign travelers and businesspeople to visit the country visa-free. Its latest move was an extension of its visa-free transit policy, which has permitted eligible foreign travelers to stay in the country for 240 hours without a visa.

      Lee Soo-youn from South Korea is among those foreign tourists. She came to China in mid-January to visit her aunt who settled down in Shanghai and decided to stay there for the Chinese New Year.

      "Today I went to the Oriental Pearl Tower and Yuyuan Garden, and had Peking roast duck. The visa-free policy provides me with a great opportunity to spend the Chinese New Year with my family," she said.

      Data showed that Shanghai's homestay reservations by foreigners increased 2.3 times year on year during the Spring Festival.

      "Currently, foreign tourists account for more than 30 percent of our reception volume. A large number of tourists from Malaysia and Thailand came after the visa-free policy was implemented," said Sun Yifeng, an owner of a bed and breakfast.

      Shanghai's shopping streets and malls also saw a significant increase in the number of overseas consumers.

      "We estimate that we will welcome an average of 100,000 customers per day, and a total of 700,000 to 800,000 customers during the entire holiday. Thanks to this visa-free policy, our tax refund amount has increased by more than 200 percent compared with the same period last year," said Zhou Jiong, general manager of the operations department of the Shanghai No. 1 Department Store.

      On Dec 4, 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the Spring Festival and its social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, marking a global recognition of this vibrant celebration and cherished cultural tradition.

      During this year's Spring Festival holiday, local cultural and tourism departments have launched distinctive tour packages featuring cultural elements while providing new experiences.

      At the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, a parade took center stage, attracting people of all ages to watch and interact with performers.

      According to the park, the number of visitors in the first three days of the Spring Festival holiday from Tuesday to Thursday went up by over 25 percent year on year, and the average daily visitor flow is expected to exceed 50,000 from Friday to Sunday.

      The park has added night shows and launched a variety of folk performances at different times to meet the needs of tourists.

      "My friends and I came to this park for a walk and had a lot of fun. It is beautiful and there are many marine animals. I am very happy to be here. (Switch to Chinese) Happy New Year," said a Russian tourist.

      The Spring Festival fell on Jan. 29 this year. It is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar and an occasion for family reunions.

      Shanghai welcomes surging int'l tourists during Spring Festival holiday

      Shanghai welcomes surging int'l tourists during Spring Festival holiday

      Next Article

      China's financial institutions create business incubators for sci-tech startups

      2025-02-23 01:35 Last Updated At:02:27

      Financial institutions in China's Shanghai and Tianjin are building incubators for the development of sci-tech startups.

      In Shanghai, more than 40 sci-tech startups have settled in the Zhangjiang Incubator of the Pudong Development Bank Innovation Center, covering multiple fields such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence.

      The Zhangjiang Incubator not only provides offices, account settlement and policy declaration for the startups, but also helps them secure loans, negotiate business deals, and find investments.

      A company in the field of artificial blood vessels received a credit loan from the bank even without any income. Because it moved into the incubator, the bank knew its startup team, research progress, and growth very well.

      "The bank granted us a credit loan, and it was because of this credit loan that we completed the construction of our factory, which also helped us secure a new round of financing of 30 million yuan (about 4.14 million U.S. dollars). With the factory and this financing, we were able to enter the phases of clinical trials," said Dai Weimin, chairman of Sunna Technologies (Shanghai) Company.

      In north China's Tianjin Municipality, the Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park was established, where enterprises in the park can benefit from joint support from technology, industry to finance. Financial institutions have set up branches in the park to provide comprehensive services for startups.

      "We do not meet the typical conditions for bank loans. Because we are in a special incubator environment of the Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park and have an investment-loan linkage product from the Agricultural Bank of China, we are able to secure our first loan to overcome significant difficulties," said He Jianjun, general manager of Tianrun Hanyang Technology (Tianjin) Company.

      "Over 90 percent of the companies in the innovation park are early-stage private enterprises. We have launched several financial products tailored to the companies in the Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park based on their characteristics. Meanwhile, we actively assist these enterprises in facilitating investment and financing connections and strengthen cooperation with small and medium-sized guarantee companies to address the medium- to long-term large financing needs of these businesses," said Han Le, deputy manager of the Tianjin Nankai Sub-branch of the Agricultural Bank of China.

      China's financial institutions create business incubators for sci-tech startups

      China's financial institutions create business incubators for sci-tech startups

      Recommended Articles
      Hot · Posts