Shanghai Tourism Festival to open on September 12, setting up sub-venues for first time

Shanghai is ready to offer a cultural tourism feast.

The 2020 Shanghai Tourism Festival is scheduled to run from September 12 to 27, the organizers announced on Friday.

For the first time, the Shanghai-based annual event, now in its 30th edition, will set up sub-venues in three nearby provincial cities across east China's Yangtze River Delta – Nantong in Jiangsu, Wenzhou in Zhejiang, and Huangshan in Anhui – to integrate tourism facilities and resources as well as selected activities.

However, the float parade with performances presented by global artists, a tradition on opening day and one of the highlights of the festival, will be canceled this year over safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the organizers.

Visitors participating in on-site events will be required to wear masks, have temperature checks, show health codes and follow COVID-19 social distance rules.

The festival is presenting a wide range of multi-themed activities at popular tourist attractions across Shanghai and nearby cities, including a Huangpu River tour, night tour and countryside park tour. Products related to local culture and tourism will also be launched during the 16-day event.

It will also feature online activities such as promotions in cooperation with domestic tourism and culture giants like Trip.com Group and Meituan Dianping, as well as other online platforms, in a bid to provide brand-new experiences to tourists and boost online and offline consumption.

Launched in 1990, the tourism festival has experienced considerable growth. The first edition received half a million tourists, while last year saw a record 25.7 million visitors from China and abroad, up by 48 percent from 12.7 million in 2018.