Shanghai saw a tourism boom during the National Day holiday, as cultural events, exhibitions, and shopping promotions drew travelers from home and abroad to the city.

From Oct 1 to 7, the city recorded 20.21 million tourist visits. Tourism-related transaction value reached 29.82 billion yuan ($4.45 billion), up 3.52 percent year-on-year.

As of midnight on Oct 6, the average daily number of visits to Shanghai by temporary foreign tourists had reached 15,340, up 13.86 percent year-on-year.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, online and offline consumer spending totaled 76.24 billion yuan from Sept 30 to Oct 6, up 9.9 percent year-on-year. Offline spending rose 15.1 percent to 40.04 billion yuan, while online spending increased 4.7 percent to 36.2 billion yuan.

The city's 19 monitored major commercial areas recorded 5.62 billion yuan in spending, up 14.5 percent year-on-year, while average daily store visits reached 3.96 million, up 1.9 percent.

More than 2,800 activities spanning culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions were held during the holiday. The city also staged 2,372 commercial performances.

The N² Qiantan Music Festival and Red Land 2026, a gaming and animation event held on Fuxing Island, drew a combined attendance of 87,500.

The original production of The Phantom of the Opera began its 40th-anniversary farewell season at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, with more than 100 performances scheduled. Visitors from outside Shanghai and overseas accounted for more than 40 percent of the audience.

The Shanghai Grand Opera House, scheduled to open on Oct 17, welcomed visitors for the first time with reservation-based tours. Its fan-shaped architecture, double-helix staircase, and rooftop observation deck drew strong interest, with tour slots nearly fully booked for several consecutive days.

Museums also attracted large crowds. The exhibition A House of Nobility: Aesthetics and Cultivation of Life in the Mawangdui Han Tombs at the Shanghai Art Museum (China Art Museum) added evening sessions, while an exhibition of Silla cultural relics at Shanghai Museum East received 171,500 visits.

The 2026 Rolex Shanghai Masters expanded its activities beyond the tennis venue to 23 locations across nine districts. Two international powerboat events in Baoshan district, part of the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship and the F1H2O World Championship, drew a combined attendance of nearly 50,000.

Nighttime attractions added to the city’s appeal. The third Shanghai International Light Festival brought installations and performances to waterfront areas, historic towns, and commercial districts. More than 70 commercial areas hosted light displays and interactive activities.

Suburban destinations in Jinshan, Fengxian, and Chongming featured rural tourism, farming activities, and camping sites. Nighttime entertainment options included sightseeing cruises along the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek.

Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal handled 10 inbound and outbound cruise ship calls during the holiday, with about 48,000 passenger trips originating in Shanghai. The domestically built cruise ship Adora Magic City offered a special National Day voyage featuring themed activities and cultural experiences.

Shopping and dining promotions also contributed to holiday spending. More than 200 consumption-promotion activities were held citywide, while consumption vouchers issued by municipal and district authorities helped generate 2.51 billion yuan in sales.

Spending in the Yuyuan commercial area rose 38.3 percent year-on-year. The fourth season of the Global Taste in Shanghai campaign was launched, featuring international dining guides and themed events, while a food carnival helped drive an 8 percent year-on-year increase in foot traffic in the Xujiahui commercial area.

Spending by overseas visitors also picked up. Departure tax-refund sales rose 47 percent year-on-year from Sept 30 to Oct 6, while sales under the refund-upon-purchase service increased 110 percent.

By the end of September, Shanghai had 2,748 departure tax-refund stores and 53 tax-refund points, making tax refunds more convenient for overseas visitors.

Sources: WeChat account "shanghaifabu", Jiefang Daily