When the lights of Yuyuan Garden illuminate, Shanghai welcomes the Chinese New Year. As a national-level intangible cultural heritage project, the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Bogi from Hungary is visiting the Lantern Festival for the first time. Although the Nine-Bend Bridge is crowded, it doesn't affect her enjoyment of the beautiful scenery and taking photos. On the other side, a family of three from Russia is also experiencing their first Spring Festival in China, and they are deeply impressed by the bustling crowds and colorful lanterns. While enjoying the sights, they also make a video call to share the beautiful scenery with their relatives back in Russia.

Writing Spring Festival couplets and making paper-cut for window decoration enriches their travel experiences. Ethan from the UK has been in China for six months; this is his first Spring Festival. While visiting the Lantern Festival, he also checked out the treasure exhibition which opened on the same day.

Walking through Yuyuan Garden, Kim, a Korean tourist who has been in Shanghai for three days, enjoys the constantly looping Korean audio guide while exploring the Lantern Festival with friends. She has experienced the maglev train, visited Wukang Road, eaten soup dumplings, bought White Rabbit candy, and toured ancient towns, as well as participated in writing Spring Festival couplets and making paper-cut. "It's my first time here, and I sometimes get lost because there are so many people. Hearing the Korean broadcast, however, feels very friendly."

Data from Ctrip shows that during the Spring Festival, inbound tourism to Shanghai is experiencing continuous growth. As of Jan. 22, the number of inbound traveler orders has nearly doubled compared to last year. The top five sources of inbound travelers are South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Popular attractions for foreign tourists during the Spring Festival include Shanghai Disneyland, the Oriental Pearl Tower, the maglev train, Shanghai Wild Animal Park, and Shiliupu Pier.

Shanghai has made extensive preparations to welcome guests. For example, Jing'an District has launched City Walk routes exclusively for foreign friends, including a three-day tour from Jan. 1 to 3 to celebrate the New Year in Jing'an, along with a non-material cultural heritage experience route. At the launch ceremony, foreign friends from countries like South Korea, France, Thailand, Indonesia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and South Africa interacted with Zhang Jianming, a non-material heritage inheritor of Jing'an's "Yuanbao Tea," to experience the festive atmosphere.

With an increasing number of young Koreans visiting Shanghai, many are eager to experience the sightseeing bus, and the guides are working hard to learn some common Korean phrases. Moreover, they have prepared some surprises for tourists. Before the festival, Park from Korea received a special New Year gift at the urban sightseeing bus station—a limited edition luggage tag featuring the zodiac for the Year of the Snake, customized by Spring Tour. "It's super cute and very meaningful. I will treasure it!"

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