Queue for entry at the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park during the holiday

Shanghai recorded over 10 million visits from tourists during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, marking a good start to the cultural and tourism market for the Year of the Rabbit, authorities said.
The city reaped in 16.64 billion yuan (US$2.45 billion) of tourism revenue during the holiday, with 10.02 million visits from tourists recorded, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Major tourist attractions in the city received 4.12 million visits, marking a recovery of about 90 percent of that before the COVID pandemic hit.
Among them, Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park, Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum had 210,000, 118,000, 98,500 and 100,000 visits respectively during the holiday, soaring 95, 61, 86 and 90 percent from the same period last year, according to the administration.
Overall, the occupancy rate of minsu (Chinese version of B&B) in Shanghai's suburbs hit 70 percent.
With the resumption of inter-provincial group tours, 60 percent of visitors to the park were out-of-town during the holiday with significant growth of tour groups from neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Beijing observed, operator from the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park said.
In total, over 500 activities were staged at cultural venues and tourist attractions across the city, providing diversified tourism and cultural options for residents and tourists and significantly boosting cultural and tourism consumption, according to the administration.

Large crowds at the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park over the holiday

Seventy-two museums in the city hosted 38 exhibitions and recorded 500,000 visits over the holiday, surging 61.84 percent from the same period last year.
Among them, Shanghai Museum, where the exhibition "Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery" is held, attracted 47,000 visits, up 81 percent from last year.
Another 39 art galleries hosted 86 exhibitions, welcoming 230,000 visits.
Meanwhile, a variety of activities themed on intangible cultural heritage displays, like the lantern fair at the Yuyuan Garden scenic area and a folk exhibition at the Shanghai History Museum gained popularity, while the iconic Huangpu River cruise tour welcomed 72,400 passengers, soaring 239 percent from the same period last year.
Moreover, flower appreciation, camping, and bird observation activities in parks enriched tourist experiences, according to the administration.
The city's performance market also boomed during the holiday, with 602 performances staged in total, up 32 percent from last year.
Their combined box office hit 10.26 million yuan, growing 42 percent.
Source: Shanghai Daily