National Tourism Day: Visit Shanghai tourist spots on the cheap

Although we’d all rather get May 19 off, the government is offering the next best thing: half price or free entry to all those tourist attractions you’ve yet to see. If you can’t sleep in, at least you can save some Mao during a post-work tourism visit.

Thursday, May 19 marks China's first National Tourism Day, and 35 attractions in Shanghai will offer half-price or free admission, with dozens more places around the country following suit.

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"China has entered a period of mass tourism, so we hope to promote tourism by establishing National Tourism Day, with the aim of supporting tourist initiatives throughout the country," said Zhu Shanzhong of the China National Tourism Administration.

The date, May 19, was chosen because it's supposedly the day that historic writer and traveler Xu Xiake (1587-1641) started on his book “Travel Notes of Xu Xiake,” one of the first books to map China’s geography.

The date was also chosen as it marks the start of the best season for travel in most parts of China.

We hope that this discount will help us attract even more tourists on National Tourism Day.— Chen Weili, a press officer for Jin Mao Tower

Shanghai landmarks that are offering discounted or free admission include the Jin Mao Tower, the Pearl Tower, Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Chen Shan Shanghai Botanical Garden, Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park and Happy Valley amusement park.

"We hope that this discount will help us attract even more tourists on National Tourism Day," Chen Weili, a press officer for Jin Mao Tower, told the Global Times.

If you don’t want to fight the crowds, Happy Valley is extending its admissions discount through Friday, May 20.

"We chose to extend the reduced admission fares for a second day because we want more people to have fun in the park," explained Xu Fei, a press officer for Happy Valley, to reporters.

Although many people see the discount day as a positive step in raising the profile of a number of Chinese tourist spots, without giving people the day off, few locals will be able to benefit, and as Chinese netizen “LAUGH” posted on travelchinaguide.com, a popular Chinese travel site, “There will be too many people at the sites on May 19. I do not want to see a sea of faces in the scenic areas though the ticket price is cheaper."

Chinese museums and some art galleries are already free to visitors.

Part of an overall government push, National Tourism Day is part of a broader policy on a national level to help local districts plan major events to lure tourists from both within and outside the country.

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China has invested heavily in tourism infrastructure over the past 10 years, with major milestones being the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year's Shanghai World Expo.

The government estimates that about 134 million people visited China in 2010, with and estimated 2.1 billion "domestic trips" made in China last year -- accounting for RMB 1.25 trillion in revenue according to The Independent.