Shanghai Tourism Festival floats unveiled
Shanghai Tourism Festival will kick off with a grand parade on Huaihai Zhong Lu, but shame that we can only imagine what those colorful floats will look like for now.The city’s biggest annual travel event Shanghai Tourism Festival (上海旅游节) is just around the corner, and this year’s floats will be more interactive and diverse than ever.
The festival authority announced yesterday on a press conference that a total of 22 floats from China and overseas -- four more vehicles than last year -- will parade in different venues throughout the festival, reported Shanghai Youth Daily.
Highlights include a Javan Hawk-eagle float by Indonesia Tourism, which can glow and spread its wings, a jumping fish float from Jinjiang International, with a school of small fish bouncing up to form a big fish, a Grand Prix race car by Macau Government Tourist Office and a udon float designed by the Kagawa Prefecture government in Japan.
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This is the first year the authority has allowed Chinese cities from outside of the Yangtze River Delta to showcase their floats. Lhasa Tourism Board and the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, among others, have signed up for the show.
Apart from marching down Huaihai Zhong Lu on the opening ceremony, all floats will make trips to 14 of Shanghai’s 17 districts and complete their Shanghai tour with a static exhibition in Dongping Forest Park on Chongming Island, from September 30 to October 6.
No further information has been released on which districts and streets the floats will visit. Nor did any float pictures have been published.
The locals will be able to vote for their favorite floats through the Internet. Online polls will be set up on several websites, including Online Shanghai, Tencent Weibo and Shanghai Tour.
Under the theme of “Entering the glory and happiness” (走进美好与欢乐), Shanghai Tourism Festival will run from September 10-October 6, with the aim of “promoting the classic side of Shanghai and fully amplifying the ‘post-Expo’ effect.”
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The festival will commence with an opening parade from 7:30 p.m. on September 10 -- along Huaihai Zhong Lu from Xizang Nan Lu to Shaanxi Nan Lu. Seating will be prepared beforehand in the zone, with a main platform set up in front of Shanghai Times Square.
The month-long celebration will be broken down into several events, for example a cruise parading on Huangpu River and a Confucius culture festival in Jiading in late September, a German beer festival from September 14-24 at Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai Hotel and a “rose” collective wedding ceremony on Huaihai Lu on October 5.
For those who read Chinese, check the festival’s official website for more information.
