As night falls and lights come on, enjoying night views, savoring delicious food, and indulging in shopping are becoming the choices of many citizens and tourists. Under the influence of multiple factors such as the new trends in cultural tourism development and the new needs of citizens and tourists, “night tours” are beginning to release huge potential.
In Shanghai, relevant units are launching a batch of characteristic “night tour” activities around multiple dimensions such as night shopping, night dining, and night shows. It is worth mentioning that the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, which creates a new window for the city’s image and a new IP for nightscape tourism by holding more than 100 theme activities, integrates the light and shadow art feast with various cultural, commercial, and sports activities, turns “traffic” into “retention”, adds new momentum to commercial consumption, and injects new vitality into urban landmarks. In addition, the “Yu Garden · Mid-Autumn Moon Tour” activity, which has been held for three consecutive years, continues to integrate Chinese philosophy this year and presents more abundant activity content. The reporter of China Securities News saw at the activity site that through display forms such as building floodlighting shows and dreamy lantern groups, it has attracted many citizens and tourists to come and watch.
Industry insiders analyze that “night tours” are not only concentrated in a single link. In essence, they are a diversified experience. They form the nighttime consumption market through many elements including food, tourism, shopping, entertainment, sports, exhibitions, and performances, stimulating consumption vitality.
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Two major IPs create new scenes
During the just-concluded 35th Shanghai Tourism Festival, Shanghai specially launched the urban new “night” state cultivation plan. It is worth noting that this year’s Shanghai Tourism Festival and the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival have similar session periods. The two major IPs are positively superimposed and interact bidirectionally, activating the nighttime economy, enriching cultural tourism supply, creating a new all-weather and all-time cultural tourism consumption scene, and further reflecting the characteristics of urban tourism in terms of quality, diversity, and comprehensiveness.
The urban night shows that are staged in a colorful way during the touring activities attract attention. Taking the float parade as an example, on October 6, the reporter saw at a key landmark and business district in Shanghai that the floats integrate digital experience, national trend aesthetics, and intangible cultural heritage characteristics on the basis of traditional craftsmanship. Through the upgrade of technology and creativity, they have created mobile urban museums and grand performing arts stages one after another, painting a “heat map” of urban light and shadow, and presenting unique “light” viewing experiences for the general public and tourists.
This year’s Shanghai Tourism Festival also innovatively creates key brand activities of the tourism festival such as the “Suzhou River Twelve National Colors Waterfront Tourism Festival”, “Happy Tour Cloud Shopping Cultural Tourism Carnival”, “University Student Tourism Festival”, and “Tang Rhyme Mid-Autumn Garden Party”. In addition, there are also rich urban night entertainment activities such as the “Jiangnan Foodie Festival” and “German Beer Festival”, as well as various lantern festivals, folk intangible cultural heritage, national style markets, and “New Discoveries in Ancient Towns” activities, creating a friendly and rich “flavor of life” atmosphere.
It is reported that during the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, key cultural and museum venues, art galleries, and public libraries in Shanghai extend their nighttime service hours. Special high-quality activities such as “Night Appreciation”, “Night Shows”, and “Night Reading” such as museum wonderful nights, wonderful nights of roaming art galleries, and wonderful nights of seeing the future are specially planned and launched.
The reporter learned from the Shanghai History Museum that the museum extends its opening hours until 7 pm from October 1 to October 6. Earlier, the 2024 Ancient Egyptian Exhibition of the Shanghai Museum, which is very popular among citizens and tourists, specially added night sessions (from 5 pm to 9 pm) on Tuesdays to Fridays during the summer vacation in 2024 (from July 19 to August 31).
The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism introduced that during the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, 119 characteristic nightscape check-in points were set up in the city. Linking more than 900 “business, travel, culture, sports, and exhibition” venues, they jointly lit up more than 1,100 important buildings. The main venue activity of the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center drove a 14.93% month-on-month increase in nighttime consumption in the surrounding areas.
The Yu Garden Lantern Festival, one of the representative works of light and shadow art in Shanghai, also appeared at the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival. At the main venue activity of the Shanghai Exhibition Center, the latest light and shadow work of the Yu Garden Lantern Festival – “The Mushroom Jungle in the Record of Mountains and Seas and Strange Fortunes” unveiled its mystery, allowing citizens and tourists to feel in advance the mysterious and colorful jungle world in ancient mythological stories.
The reporter learned from Yu Garden Co., Ltd. that the two Yu Garden Lantern Festivals in 2023 and 2024 both attracted more than 4 million people to participate, effectively driving nighttime consumption in the surrounding areas.
In addition to the latest light and shadow work of the Yu Garden Lantern Festival unveiled this time, the third “Yu Garden · Mid-Autumn Moon Tour” and BFC’s “Autumn Radiance” fashion autumn theme season also were splendidly staged from September 6 to October 7 as important promotional activities of the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival.
The relevant person in charge of Yu Garden Co., Ltd. told the reporter that during the period from September 6 to October 7, more than 20 “moons” shone simultaneously in Yu Garden Mall and BFC Bund Finance Center, and seven check-in points were set up, allowing citizens and tourists to feel the relaxation and comfort of autumn in the interaction with the moonlight.
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Policy guidance and support
The rise of “night tours” has been a major highlight of Shanghai’s tourism consumption market in recent years. Behind this is the guidance and support of relevant policies.
Liu Min, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, introduced that as one of the benchmark activities of this year’s “Shanghai Summer” international consumption season, during the first Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, the commercial field in Shanghai will launch three major 板块 business district linkage activities centered around the theme of “Charming Light and Shadow, Wonderful Consumption”, including “Enjoy Discounts with Light and Shadow Ticket Stubs”, “Business District Light and Shadow Art Shows”, and “Light Up the Brilliant Night Shanghai”, magnifying the “ticket stub economy” effect of the light and shadow festival.
The reporter learned from some merchants in key business districts such as Nanjing West Road, Xujiahui, and Zhongshan Park that consumers have the opportunity to obtain tickets to the light and shadow festival after completing their shopping experience. For example, 20 shopping malls such as Jiuguang Department Store, HKRI Taikoo Hui, and Joy City Shanghai Jing’an have launched activities to give away tickets to the light and shadow festival when spending reaches a certain amount.
Some business districts also launch activities of “Courtesy for Light and Shadow Festival Ticket Stubs”. For example, Shanghai Suhewan Mixc World launches the “Suhe Tea Market” and group purchase vouchers for light and shadow festival experiences; Jiuguang Department Store launches the “Light and Shadow Lucky Bag” in conjunction with its anniversary celebration; New World Department Store and New World City in Huangpu District offer catering discounts or shopping mall discounts when holding light and shadow festival tickets; Xuhui District links up with the “Sparkling Bracelet” theme activity and distributes more than 10,000 consumption discount vouchers; Suning 易购 Changning Road Store in Changning District offers that with a light and shadow festival ticket, when purchasing some home appliance brand products in the store, consumers can enjoy full reduction activities.
It is worth mentioning that the “Shanghai Landscape Lighting Planning (2024 – 2035)” released by Shanghai at the beginning of this year clearly proposes to create high-quality landscapes with high standards, promote the green and low-carbon development of landscape lighting, and display the image of a “city that never sleeps” that is elegant, delicate, warm and comfortable, prosperous and fashionable, and full of flowing colors. It also proposes to establish the Shanghai International Light and Shadow Festival, take light and shadow art as the carrier, reflect Shanghai elements and Chinese characteristics, display new art installations of landscape lighting, perform theme light and shadow shows, and hold a high-tech achievement expo of the industry to promote the development of Shanghai’s landscape lighting industry. At the same time, it further helps the prosperity of the “night economy” and promotes the upgrading of nightscapes in “international-level consumption clusters, municipal-level commercial centers, regional-level commercial centers, and community businesses”.
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Enhancing the city’s image at multiple levels
Some industry analysts believe that the creation of nighttime landscapes can further expand the city’s influence. As an important carrier for showing the city’s style and vitality, “night tours” can enhance the city’s image at multiple levels such as consumption, cultural tourism, and people’s livelihood, thereby bringing social and economic benefits.
Not only in Shanghai, recently, many places have issued relevant policy measures one after another to encourage nighttime catering, nighttime tourism and other activities, accelerate the high-quality and prosperous development of the “night economy”, and further release consumption potential. For example, in March this year, Xi’an held the 2024 citywide business work conference. In arranging and deploying the key tasks for 2024, it clearly mentioned coordinating and promoting the renovation and upgrading of 10 commercial blocks, holding the 2024 China Urban Nighttime Economy Development Conference, and creating about 10 nighttime consumption clusters.
To further accelerate the development of the “night economy” and promote the upgrading of nighttime consumption, some cities have even offered real money. In March this year, Yichang City issued the “Several Measures to Support the Development of Nighttime Economy”, comprehensively promoting nighttime consumption agglomeration, highlighting the characteristics of “night dining”, improving the quality of “night shopping”, polishing the brand of “night tourism”, enriching the experience of “night entertainment”, improving nighttime consumption supporting facilities, and creating nighttime consumption brands. It is mentioned that enterprises or townships (sub-districts) where characteristic commercial blocks are located are encouraged to create nighttime consumption agglomeration demonstration areas. Those recognized at the provincial and municipal levels will be given a one-time reward of 100,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan respectively. For those rated as municipal-level nighttime consumption demonstration streets, a one-time reward of 30,000 yuan will be given.
According to the report of Zhiyan Consulting Industry Research Institute, the market scale of China’s nighttime economy has grown from 22.54 trillion yuan in 2018 to 50.25 trillion yuan in 2023.
Industry insiders believe that the “night economy” is an important starting point and new driving force for expanding market demand, promoting residents’ consumption, and creating jobs. If urban management continues to follow the past thinking and mode, it will be difficult to meet the needs of the healthy development of the “night economy”. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the sorting out and adjustment of the existing urban management system. Not only should the spatial layout of the “night economy” be planned well, but also the operation mechanism of the urban public service system should be straightened out.