Shanghai's tourism sector rakes in billions during Spring Festival

Shanghai received nearly 11 million visitors and raked in over 17.7 billion yuan (about 2.8 billion U.S. dollars) during this year's Spring Festival holiday, local authorities said Sunday.

During the seven-day national holiday from Jan. 31, Shanghai held approximately 500 cultural and tourism activities themed on intangible cultural heritages, said the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

Visitors participated in various celebration activities held in ancient towns, museums, art galleries, and other tourist attractions.

Meanwhile, online exhibitions and performances hosted by local museums, art galleries, and other public cultural venues attracted more than 3.2 million viewers and participants.

People also learned interesting facts about feline animals, such as tigers, through an online exhibition held by the Shanghai Natural History Museum. This Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 1, is also the Year of the Tiger, according to the traditional animal zodiac culture.

The Spring Festival holiday has brought the city booming consumption growth. The average occupancy rate of Shanghai's hotels during the holiday was 40 percent, up 5 percent from the prior Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.