A bright and breezy outdoor coffee market — situated near Shanghai's landmark Jing'an Temple and the Shanghai Jiuguang Center — kicked off on April 16, with a raft of domestic and overseas coffee brands showcasing their latest products.

Running through to April 20, the market is part of the Shanghai Jing'an World Coffee Culture Festival, which began on April 7 and continues through to May 5 in the city's Jing'an district.

Curious about the festival? Then, check out the Guide to Shanghai Jing'an World Coffee Culture Festival

"The atmosphere (of the outdoor coffee market) is great. I'm more a person of habit, but this kind of festival gives me an opportunity to try new things," said Georgi Beloev, a Bulgarian engineer who works and lives in Shanghai.

"I was a little bit surprised to see that coffee is so popular in Shanghai. I think part of the reason is that coffee is not just the drink itself, but it's combined with social experiences," he added.

With its theme of "More Coffee, It's All Right", this year's festival — set up near West Nanjing Road and Yuyuan Road — features a main event location, five sub-event locations and the Starbucks Reserve Shanghai Roastery.

Xu Weihua, deputy director of Jing'an district's administration of culture and tourism, said that this year's festival boasts a longer duration of nearly a month and a wider range of activities.

Over 2,000 merchants from 10 core commercial areas across the district have participated in the festival, offering a variety of discounts.

In addition, Chinese e-commerce platforms — such as Alibaba's Alipay and Ele.me, and Didi — are distributing vouchers and discounts for entertainment, travel and takeout food, adding zest to the coffee consumption extravaganza.

To meet the growing demand for high-quality and diverse coffee experiences, innovative cross-industry ventures have emerged to attract consumers and boost consumption.

Among those, Leiyunshang, a Chinese pharmacy brand set up in 1662, has collaborated with Gabee, a veteran in the coffee industry for 21 years, to introduce three limited-edition beverages — blending coffee culture with traditional Chinese medicine.

"Through leveraging the complementary resource advantages of both companies, this new business model is more appealing to young people, which helps expand our existing silver-haired consumer market and spread a healthier lifestyle among young people," said Zhang Yong, marketing manager of Shanghai Leiyunshang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd West Zone.